Read The Book and the Sword 書劍恩仇錄 PART FIVE
`Mastermind' Xu went later to see the Muslim envoy.
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PART FIVE
1
`Mastermind' Xu went later to
see the Muslim envoy.
"I will take you to see
the Emperor," he said, and they left, accompanied by Meng carrying the
leather box containing the vases. Unknown to the envoy, one of the vases had
been removed.
When they arrived at the
Commander-in-Chief's Yamen, Meng handed the leather box to the envoy and
pointed to the main gate.
"Go in on your own,"
he said.
That afternoon, an attendant
handed a visiting card to Great Helmsman Chen. It was signed 'Your servant Deng
Tunan', the trusted lieutenant of Commander Li Keshou.
"Your plan has probably
worked, Brother Xu," Chen said. "Brother Wei, please go and receive
him."
'Leopard' Wei went to the
reception room and saw a robust military official seated in a chair. "What
is it you wish to see our master about, Master Deng?" he asked.
"I have come with
instructions from Commander-in-Chief Li to see the Great Helmsman of your
society to discuss a certain matter with him," Deng replied.
"Our master is not free
at present. It is the same if you talk to me."
"It concerns a Muslim
vase," he said.
Wei frowned enquiringly.
"The Muslims dispatched
an envoy with a pair of vases to plead for peace. But when the Emperor opened
the box, only one of the vases was inside. He was very angry and questioned the
envoy, who said that he had already had an audience with the Commander-in-Chief
of Zhejiang Province. The Emperor called in Commander Li, who was naturally
mystified. Luckily, the Emperor knew Commander Li would not do such a thing,
that there must be some good explanation."
"That is good," said
Wei, nodding.
"But the Emperor said
that Commander Li would be held responsible for the affair and gave him three
days to find and return the other vase. This presents a great difficulty."
"He's afraid that if he
doesn't find the vase, he will be removed from office, is that it? It's
probably easier not being an official. If one's whole family could to be
executed and all one's possessions seized, it must be rather distressing."
Deng ignored his sarcasm.
"Let us not deceive each other. I have come to ask your society to return
the vase."
"We have not heard of any
such vase," replied Wei. "But as Commander Li has encountered this
difficulty, there is no reason why we shouldn't help him find it. We may
possibly come across some clue to its whereabouts in a year or two."
"Commander Li said he had
great respect for Master Chen. He sent me today to ask your assistance, but
would not feel at ease if he was unable to do anything in return. Please do not
hesitate to inform us of Master Chen's wishes."
"You are very frank,
General Deng. That is excellent," Wei replied. "Our Master Chen has
two wishes. Firstly, the Red Flower Society has offended Commander Li, and he
would like to ask him to let bygones be bygones."
"That goes without
saying. I can guarantee that the Commander will never make difficulties for
your society over this matter. And the second thing?"
"Our Fourth Brother Wen
Tailai is imprisoned in the Commander's Yamen."
Deng grunted.
"He is an Imperial
criminal," Wei continued. "No matter how courageous Commander Li is,
he would never dare to release him. We understand that. But Master Chen misses
him greatly and would like to see him alone tonight."
Deng thought for a second.
"This is an extremely serious matter. I will have to ask the Commander and
return with the reply."
Deng returned two hours later.
"The Commander says that
Master Wen's crimes are serious in the extreme, and that normally no-one would
be allowed to visit him," he said.
"Normally!" Wei
exclaimed.
"But as Master Chen has
agreed to return the vase, the Commander will risk his neck and allow Master
Chen to see him. However, there are two small conditions he must agree to.
First, the Commander has recklessly agreed to this purely in order to cement
his friendship with Master Chen. If anyone else found out about it, it would be
disastrous."
"Commander Li wants
Master Chen to agree not to reveal a word about the affair to anyone, is that
it?"
"Exactly."
"I can agree to that on
our Master's behalf," Wei said.
"The second point is that
only Master Chen will be allowed to make the visit."
Wei smiled. "Commander Li
is naturally afraid that we will take advantage of the opportunity to try to
rescue Master Wen. All right, we agree. Master Chen will go by himself. But we
have not agreed not to attempt a rescue."
"You are a good man,
Brother Wei, and I value your word. Please ask Master Chen to come to the Yamen
this evening."
"If Zhang Zhaozhong is
around when Master Chen and Master Wen meet, it will naturally be impossible to
preserve the secrecy of the agreement, which could be extremely inconvenient
for Commander Li."
"That is true," Deng
replied. "The Commander will think of some excuse for getting him
away."
When Deng had left, the heroes
gathered in the Great Hall to await their orders for Wen's rescue.
"Brother Xu, I will leave
the arrangements to you," Chen said.
Xu was silent for a moment.
"Now that we know Zhang Zhaozhong will be elsewhere and that the Great
Helmsman can get inside, it will of course be much easier to rescue Brother
Wen," he said. "But Li is also certain to prepare for that
eventuality. We must first work out what he plans to do and then do something
unexpected."
"He will gather a large
contingent of troops and surround the entrance to the dungeon and may even
enlist the support of some Imperial Bodyguards," Yang pointed out.
"They will allow only the Great Helmsman in, and only the Great Helmsman
out."
"We had better be waiting
outside the Yamen just in case the Turtles try anything against the Great
Helmsman," said one of the Twin Knights.
"We will of course be
waiting outside," answered Xu. "But I don't think Li will dare to
harm the Great Helmsman with the vase in our hands."
"I've got it," Chen
said suddenly. "When I go to see Fourth Brother, I will wear a wide cape
and a large hat with a face cover…"
Xu knew what he meant.
"But that way, we would gain one man only to lose another. It's not a good
idea."
"Finish what you were
saying, Great Helmsman," said Priest Wu Chen.
"Once I am in the
dungeon, I will exchange clothes with Fourth Brother and then let him leave.
The guards will think it is me. You can be waiting outside to receive
him."
"But what about
you?"
"The Emperor and I have a
special relationship. Once they discover the switch, they will let me go."
The heroes were unhappy that
their leader was placing himself in such danger, but they were forced to agree
it was probably the best plan.
All the arrangements were
completed. Chen threw on a large cape with the collar turned up, pulled a hat
well down over his face, and set off for the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen
accompanied by 'Leopard' Wei. By the time they arrived, it was already close to
dusk and the first stars had began to appear at the edge of the sky. A man came
out to meet them.
"Is that Master
Chen?" he whispered. Wei nodded. "Please come with me. This other
gentleman, please stay here."
Wei stood and watched as Chen
followed the man into the Yamen. A flight of ravens flew overhead through the
evening mist on their way home, cawing as they went, and Wei's heart beat
wildly as he wondered what would happened to the Great Helmsman. After a while,
the rest of the heroes arrived and spread out around the Yamen.
As he entered the gate, Chen
saw the Yamen was filled with thousands of soldiers on guard. The man led him
through three courtyards and into a room.
"Please take a
seat," he said, and left. A moment later, Commander Li entered and saluted
Chen. "It is an honour to meet you," he said.
Chen opened his cape and
revealed his face. "We met the day before yesterday on the lake," he
answered with a smile.
"You may now see the
prisoner," said Li. "Please follow me."
As they reached the door, an attendant
rushed breathlessly towards them.
"Commander, the Emperor
has arrived," he reported. "Master Deng has gone out to meet
him."
Li started in surprise and
turned to Chen. "You had better wait here for a while," he said.
Li ran through to the front
courtyard and saw Qian Long with a large contingent of Imperial Guardsmen. He
hurriedly knelt down before him and kowtowed.
"Arrange a well-guarded
room," said Qian Long. "I want to personally interrogate Wen
Tailai."
Li invited the Emperor into
his own study, and the Imperial Bodyguards established themselves on all sides
of the study and even on the roof.
"I have important matters
of a confidential nature to discuss with this prisoner. No-one else must
hear," Qian Long told Bodyguard Bai Zhen.
"Yes, Your
Highness," Bai replied and retired.
A moment later, four
bodyguards entered carrying a stretcher on which Wen, handcuffed and chained,
lay asleep. The bodyguards retired and there was silence for a time.
"How are your
injuries?" Qian Long asked. Wen's eyes opened and he sat up. His wounds
had not yet healed, but his mind was clear. He had seen Qian Long once before
when he had entered the Imperial Palace with Master Yu, but was surprised at
suddenly meeting him again in Hangzhou.
"I'm not dead yet,"
he said coldly.
"I asked my men to invite
you to come to see me because there is something I wish to discuss with
you."
Wen grunted.
"When you visited me with
that leader of yours, Master Yu, I discussed an important matter with him.
Unfortunately, I hear he became ill and died very soon afterwards. It was a
great pity."
"If Master Yu had not
died, I expect he would be imprisoned here with me," replied Wen.
Qian Long laughed. "You
underworld fighters, you're very frank. You say whatever you are thinking. Now,
Master Wen, I have only one question for you. Answer me honestly, and I will
immediately release you."
"Release me? Ha! Do you
think I am a three-year-old child? I know that you cannot eat or sleep easy
knowing that I'm still alive. You have stayed your hand until today only
because you wish to question me."
"You're much too
suspicious," said Qian Long with a smile. He walked forward two paces.
"Did Master Yu tell you
what it was he talked to me about?" he asked.
"What did you talk
about?"
Qian Long stared at him, and
Wen returned the gaze unflinchingly. After a while, Qian Long turned his head
away.
"About my origins,"
he said quietly.
"He didn't say. You are
the Emperor, the son of the late Emperor and Empress. Everyone knows about your
origins. What more is there to say?"
Qian Long breathed a sigh of
relief. "That night you visited me, you must have known what the reason
was?"
"Master Yu said that he
had helped you once over some important matter. The Red Flower Society was
short of funds and he went to ask you for three million taels of silver. But
you refused the request, and have even had me seized. If I ever get out of
this, I will reveal how ungrateful you are."
Qian Long laughed out loud. He
glanced at Wen: his anger did not appear to be a pretence. "If that is the
case, I had better have you killed," he said, half-believing him.
"Otherwise, if I let you go, it could damage my reputation."
"Why didn't you kill me
earlier? If you had, you wouldn't have had to harbour such evil schemes against
your mother."
"What about my
mother?" Qian Long asked, turning pale.
"You understand."
"So you know
everything?"
"No, not everything.
Master Yu said the Empress Dowager knew he had helped you and had asked you to
repay him, but that you were still unwilling to part with the silver. You have
mountains of money. Three million taels should be nothing to you. But you
insist on being petty."
Qian Long laughed nervously.
He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the beads of sweat on his brow. He
paced the room to steady himself, then smiled. "You show no fear at all
before the Emperor. You are indeed a man of steel," he said.
"What have I to be afraid
of? I doubt if you would dare to kill me," said Wen.
"Wouldn't dare?"
"You want to kill me
because you're afraid your secret will be revealed but as soon as you kill me,
your secret will be impossible to keep."
"Can dead men talk?"
"As soon as I die,
someone will open a certain letter and reveal the evidence to the world. Then
you will be in a real predicament."
"What letter?" Qian
Long asked.
"Before we went to the
palace to see you, Master Yu wrote down every detail of the affair and sealed
the document in an envelope together with two important pieces of evidence and
left it with a friend."
"Was he afraid that
something untoward might happen?"
"Of course. How could he
trust you? Master Yu told his friend that if we were both to die suddenly, he
should open the letter and do what it said, but if one of us was still alive,
not to open it under any circumstances. Master Yu has already passed away, so I
don't think you'll dare to kill me."
Qian Long wrung his hands,
anxiety written all over his face.
"Wouldn't it be worth
spending three million taels of silver to buy that letter and the two pieces of
evidence?" Wen asked.
"The silver? I had always
planned to hand it over and then release you. Write a letter to your friend
telling him to bring the letter to me and I will immediately pay up the
money."
"Ha, ha. Once I tell you
his name, you can send your bodyguards to kill or capture him. Actually, I'm
very comfortable here. I would be happy to stay the rest of my life. You and I
have the same fate. If I die first, you won't live much longer."
Qian Long bit his lip.
"If you won't write the letter, it is of no importance," he said
after a pause. "I will give you two days. If you persist in being
stubborn, I will have no alternative but to kill you. No-one else will know
about it and your friend will think you're still alive. And even if I don't
kill you, I can still have your eyes gouged out, your tongue removed, your arms
cut off…Think about it over the next two days."
He pushed open the door and
walked out. His bodyguards re-assembled around him, and Commander Li saw him
out of the Yamen.
Wen was carried back to the
dungeon by the Commander's personal guards with Zhang Zhaozhong providing an
escort. Once in the cell, one of the guards handed Zhang a letter.
"Commander Li asked me to
give you this," he said. Zhang opened and read the letter, then left.
Wen lay on the bed thinking
about his wife and friends. He hoped none of them would be harmed if they
should attempt a rescue.
Just then, the iron door to
his cell opened with a clang and a man walked in. Wen thought it was Zhang
returning and did not open his eyes.
The man walked over to the
bed. "Fourth Brother," he said quietly.
Wen was stunned. He looked up
and saw it was Chen. "Great Helmsman!" he exclaimed, sitting up.
Chen smiled and nodded. He
pulled two steel files from his pocket, and began filing at Wen's manacles.
After a few strong strokes, a series of light scratches appeared on the
surface, but the file was ruined. The manacles were made of a specially-cast
steel brought from the West, and an ordinary file was useless against it.
"Great Helmsman, only the
finest of swords could break through these chains and manacles," said Wen.
Chen remembered the battle
with Zhang Zhaozhong at the Yellow River crossing and how sharp Zhang's 'Frozen
Emerald' sword had been.
"Does Zhang guard you
night and day?" he asked quickly.
"He's never more than a
step from me. He only left a short while ago."
"Good. We'll wait for him
to return and steal his sword." Chen threw the files under the bed.
"It's possible I won't be
able to get out of here," Wen said. "The Emperor wants to silence me
because he's afraid I will reveal his secret. I had better tell you what it is,
Great Helmsman, so that no matter if I live or die, there will be no
delay."
Chen nodded.
"The night I went to the
Imperial Palace with Master Yu, Qian Long was very surprised to see us. Master
Yu said: 'A lady from the Chen family in Haining asked me to come,' and handed
him a letter. The Emperor's face went pale as he read it, and he told me to
wait outside. The two of them then talked for about two hours before Master Yu
finally came out. On the way back, he told me the Emperor was not a Manchu at
all, but a Chinese and also your elder brother."
Chen started in shock.
"That's impossible," he said firmly. "My brother is in
Haining."
"Master Yu said that on
the day the Emperor Yong Zheng's wife gave birth to a girl, your mother by
coincidence also gave birth to a boy. Yong Zheng ordered the Chen family's
child to be brought for him to look at, and when it was returned, it had become
a girl. The boy is now the Emperor Qian Long…"
Before he could finish, they
heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor and a guard came in.
"What is it?" asked
Chen.
"Master Zhang is
returning. Commander Li is unable to detain him further and asks you to leave
quickly."
"Thank you," Chen
replied. His left hand shot out and touched a Yuedao point on the guard's body.
The guard toppled to the floor without a sound, and Chen pushed him under the
bed.
"With Zhang on his way, I
don't have time to give you all the details," Wen continued. "Master
Yu knew the Emperor was Chinese and went to urge him to overthrow the Manchus
and restore China to the Chinese while remaining as Emperor himself. Qian Long
appeared moved by the appeal, and asked Master Yu to bring evidence before
making a decision. But as soon as Master Yu returned home, he fell ill and
never recovered. His last wish was that you should be the Great Helmsman, and
he said to me that this was a good opportunity for us to restore the honour of
the Chinese people. The Emperor is your elder brother. If he is unwilling to
overthrow the Manchus, then everyone will support you to take his place."
His words left Chen too
stunned to speak. He thought back to when he had first seen Qian Long by the
lake and afterwards crying before the tomb of his parents. Could it really be
that the Emperor was born of his own mother and father?
"I understand your mother
wrote down the full details of how the Emperor Yong Zheng swapped the girl for
your brother in a letter which Master Yu gave along with several other pieces
of evidence to your teacher, Master Yuan, to look after."
"Ah, so when the Twin
Knights went to see my teacher this summer, they were carrying these things to
him on Master Yu's orders?"
"That's right. It was so
secret that not even you could be told. All that Master Yuan knows is that they
are extremely important, but he does not know what they are. Just before Master
Yu passed away, he said that after you became Great Helmsman, you should open
the letter and make your plans accordingly. But I stupidly allowed myself to be
captured and risked the whole enterprise. Great Helmsman, if you can't get me
out today, you must go to the Muslim regions as quickly as possible to see your
teacher. You must not endanger the great cause of restoration just for my
sake."
Wen was clearly relieved to
have completed what he had to say.
He was about to add something
when footsteps sounded in the corridor again. He signalled quickly with his
hand, and Chen hid under the bed. Wen then draped himself over the side of bed
with his head resting on the floor.
Zhang entered the cell, and
under the faint light of the room's single candle, saw Wen lying half on the
floor as if dead. Shocked, he leapt forward and touched Wen's back, but there
was no reaction. He started to lift Wen's body back onto the bed, but as he did
so, Wen leapt up and attacked him. Zhang fell back in surprise, felt a sudden
numbness in his lower abdomen, and knew he had been hit by someone waiting in
ambush under the bed. He roared angrily, sidestepped two paces and suppressed
his breathing to control the numbness. Chen, who was startled to see Zhang
still standing, leapt out from beneath the bed and struck his face with his
fists seven or eight times.
If he responded, Zhang knew
his control would be lost and the paralysis in his abdomen would spread. He
retreated as Chen's foot flew up and struck another yuedao point. This time, he
could not sustain his control. His whole body went limp and he fell to the
ground.
Chen searched him and was
extremely disappointed to find he did not have the Frozen Emerald sword with
him. He pulled a piece of paper out of Zhang's pocket and saw under the
candlelight that it was a note from Commander Li asking Zhang to show his sword
to an important official who was waiting to see it:this must have been the
excuse Li had used to draw Zhang away. He guessed that Zhang had been anxious
to get back to the dungeon to resume his guard duties and had left early
without the sword.
Chen continued his search of
Zhang's body, and suddenly leapt up jubilantly.
"What is it?" Wen
asked. Chen held his hand up and displayed a set of keys. He tried one on the
manacles and they opened immediately.
Finally freed, Wen exercised
his arms and legs as Chen took off his cape and hat.
"Put these on and get out
quickly," he said.
"What about you?"
"I'll wait here for a
while. You get out."
Wen understood his meaning.
"Great Helmsman, I am very grateful for your good intentions, but we cannot
do it that way."
"Fourth Brother, you
don't understand. I am in no danger if I stay here." He told Wen about how
the Emperor and he had sworn an oath to each other.
"It is still
impossible,," Wen said.
Chen frowned. "I am the
Great Helmsman. All members of the Red Flower Society must follow my orders, is
that not correct?"
"Of course."
"Fine. Then this my
order. Put these on quickly and get out. The brothers are outside waiting for
you."
"This time I am forced to
disobey your order," Wen said. "I would prefer to accept whatever
penalty you decide upon."
They were deadlocked. Chen
pursed his lips and then had an idea.
"Well, we'll have to risk
going out together then. Put on his clothes," he said pointing at Zhang.
"Excellent! Why didn't
you say so earlier?" Wen exclaimed.
The two stripped Zhang of his
clothes and exchanged them for Wen's, then locked the chains and manacles onto
him. Zhang shook with rage, his eyes blood-red with hate, but he was unable to
utter a sound.
The two walked quietly through
the door and along the corridor. As they ascended a flight of stone steps, a
bright light assailed their eyes and they saw the whole courtyard was filled
with torches. Several dozen soldiers stood with shining spear tips pointed at
the dungeon entrance. Behind them were several hundred archers with bows drawn.
Commander Li stood with his right hand held high. Once it dropped, the spears
and arrows would be loosed, and Chen and Wen would be dead.
Chen stepped back a pace.
"How are your wounds?" he whispered to Wen. "Can you charge
through?"
"No, my leg is not up to
it," Wen replied with a rueful smile. "You go by yourself, Great
Helmsman, don't worry about me."
"All right, pretend
you're Zhang and we'll see how we do," Chen replied.
Wen pulled his cap down to his
eyebrows and strode out. Commander Li's heart sank at the sight of Zhang and
Chen together and he assumed that Zhang had arrested him. He turned to his
daughter Yuanzhi.
"Give Zhang's sword back
to him and distract him so that Chen can get away," he said.
Yuanzhi walked over with the
'Frozen Emerald' sword in her hand and held it out to Wen, positioning herself
between the two men.
"Uncle Zhang, here is
your sword," she said, giving Chen a slight nudge with her elbow. Wen
grunted and moved to accept the sword, and suddenly under the torch light she
recognized him.
"Wen Tailai! So you're
trying to escape," she cried and thrust the sword at his chest.
Wen feinted to one side and
caught the blade with his fingers while his right hand struck out at the Solar
Yuedao points on her forehead. Frightened, Yuanzhi tried to retreat a step, but
found that with his fingers still holding the sword, she was unable to move an
inch. She let go of the sword and tried to slip away, but Wen struck her left
shoulder and a bone-splitting pain surged through her. She cried out and
squatted down. Looking back, Chen saw Wen was surrounded but he continued to
fight fiercely.
"Stop or the archers will
shoot," Commander Li roared.
The old wounds on Wen's thigh
burst open with the sudden effort and blood poured out. He knew he did not have
the strength to break out of the circle of soldiers.
"Great Helmsman, catch
the sword and get out!" he shouted. He tried to throw the Frozen Emerald
Sword, but with a sudden pain in his shoulder, his hand went limp and the sword
fell to the ground only a few feet from him. He had been hit by an arrow.
Chen turned to Commander Li.
"Stop shooting!" he shouted. Li waved his hand and the archers
stopped.
"Get a doctor quickly to
deal with Master Wen's wounds. I'm going," Chen said, and raced out of the
Yamen. Following Li's orders, the guards pretended to give chase, without
really obstructing him.
Once out of the Yamen,
'Leopard' Wei and Luo Bing came up to meet him. Chen smiled bitterly and shook
his head. The eastern sky was already pale as with heavy hearts the heroes
returned home.
2
They gathered later in the
Great Hall to discuss the situation.
Chen said to Wei: "Ninth
Brother, send the vase to Commander Li. We cannot betray our word." Wei
bowed and left.
Master Ma's son entered the
hall and walked over to Chen. "Great Helmsman, Zhang Zhaozhong has sent a
letter to you," He said.
"Zhang? That is strange.
I wonder what he has to say?"
He opened the letter and found
it angrily accused him of deception and plotting, of behaviour unbefitting an
honourable man, and challenged him to a duel at a time and place of his choice.
"He wants to get revenge for last night," Chen told the others.
"Huh, a duel! Does he think I'm scared?"
"We have to rescue Fourth
Brother in the next two days," said Xu. "Why don't you ask Zhang to
postpone the meeting for a few days? We should not allow this matter to
interfere with our real purpose."
"That is true," said
Chen. "Today is the twentieth, so I will set the meeting for noon on the
twenty-third."
He immediately wrote a letter
inviting Zhang to meet him alone on that day and ordered an attendant to take
it to the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen.
An attendant entered and said
to Master Ma: "Master, the old man Wang Weiyang still refuses to eat and
does nothing but curse."
"Who does he curse?"
Ma asked.
"The Imperial Bodyguard
for their lack of sense. He says he doesn't understand why they have imprisoned
him."
"The North China Earth-Shaker,"
Priest Wu Chen chuckled. "As soon as he comes down to the south, he has to
put up with some hardship."
Xu's face suddenly brightened.
"I have a plan that should make it easier for you to deal with Zhang,
Great Helmsman," he said. He told them the plan and they all clapped and
laughed in delight.
"Excellent, very
cunning," said Priest Wu Chen. Zhou Qi smiled and shook her head.
"Mistress Zhou once again
thinks that Seventh Brother is not being straightforward enough," Chen
said with a smile. "But when dealing with dishonourable men, one does not
have to be completely honourable. Brother Meng, go and have a talk with the
North China Earth-Shaker."
In forty years, Wang Weiyang
had never suffered a setback. Now, on his first trip to the south, he was in
dire straights. He yelled and shouted, insisting that he should be allowed to
see the Imperial Guard Commander to settle the matter. As he ranted, the door
to his cell opened and Meng walked in wearing the uniform of an Imperial Guard
officer.
"So you are the North
China Earth-Shaker?" he said unceremoniously.
Wang raged inwardly.
"Yes," he said. "It is a nickname given to me by my friends. If
Commander Fu finds it unpleasing, I will change it immediately."
"Commander Fu is a
confidante of the Emperor," said Meng coldly. "He has no interest in
such things."
"I am escorting a
quantity of precious articles to Hangzhou for the court. Why are you detaining
me here?"
"Do you really want to
know?"
"Of course!"
"I am just afraid that at
you age, you may not be able to stand the shock."
Wang hated references to his
age more than anything. In a rage, he struck the corner of the table with his
fist and splinters flew.
"I may be old, but my
heart is still strong," he shouted. "What shock have I to be afraid
of?"
Meng laughed. "Your're
truly remarkable, Master Wang. There is a saying in the fighting community.
'Meeting the Devil is preferable to meeting old Wang, bumping into a spear is
preferable to bumping into Zhang Zhaozhong', isn't that right?"
"That's the reputation I
have amongst bandits."
"Why does 'old Wang' come
before 'Zhang'? Could it be that old Wang's kung fu is better than
Zhang's?"
Wang stood up.
"Aha!" he exclaimed. "So the Fire Hand Judge wants to test me.
I'm getting too slow in my old age. I never thought of that."
"Master Zhang is my
superior, did you know that?"
"I knew that Master Zhang
was in the Imperial Guard."
"Would you recognize
him?" asked Meng.
"We both live in Beijing,
But he is an official and I am an ordinary citizen. I have heard much about
him, but have never had the good fortune to meet him."
"Master Zhang has also
heard much about you," said Meng. "He says there are three matters he
wants to raise with you. If you agree to them, you will be allowed to leave immediately."
"Well?"
"Firstly, he wants you to
abandon the nickname 'North China Earth-Shaker."
"Huh! What's the second
thing?"
"Please close down the
Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency."
"My Bodyguard Agency has
been operating for more than thirty years," Wang protested angrily.
"Never have I suffered a loss at the hands of our friends in the fighting
community, yet Master Zhang wants me to retire! And the third thing?"
"The third thing is to
ask you to issue a proclamation asking members of the fighting community to
reverse the order of the saying about you and Master Zhang. Master Zhang also
says that as you are now getting on in age, your Eight Diagrams sword is
probably no longer of much use to you, and suggests that you donate it to the
Imperial Guard."
Wang's anger surged.
"Zhang Zhaozhong and I have nothing against one another. He's carrying
this too far!" he shouted.
"You have enjoyed a great
name for forty years. Perhaps you ought to retire. As the saying goes, one
mountain cannot contain two tigers. Surely you understand the sense of
that?"
"So he wishes to
humiliate me to promote his own name. Huh! And what if I don't agree. Will he
continue to hold me here?"
"Master Zhang is an
honourable man. He would not do such a thing," said Meng. "He invites
you to duel with him at noon today on Lion Peak. If you win, the three
conditions will not be mentioned again. If you lose, then he asks you to agree
to all three. He says it would be rather inconvenient if the Emperor found out
about this, and asks you to go alone. That is, if you dare."
Wang spluttered with rage.
"Even if I was to die there, I would still go alone."
"Then please write out a
letter and I will take it back to Master Zhang," said Meng. He pulled out
some paper and a writing brush.
Wang, his hand shaking in
anger, wrote out a short note:
"To His Excellency Master
Zhang Zhaozhong. Your words and behaviour have gone too far. I will meet you
today at noon on Lion Peak. If I lose, I will be at your disposal. Wang
Weiyang."
Meng smiled, picked up the
letter and walked out, closing the door of the cell behind him.
That morning, Master Han, the
original owner of the white horse, was moved from one cell to another. Having
fallen into the hands of Red Flower Society once again, he was afraid he would
not be able to escape so easily again. As he morosely considered his dilemma,
he heard someone shouting in the cell next to his, and recognized the voice of
Wang Weiyang. He could hear he was cursing Zhang Zhaozhong. Greatly curious, he
was just about to call out to Wang when the door opened and two men walked in.
"Please come with us to
the Great Hall for a chat, Master Han," one of them said.
As they entered the hall, Han
saw three men sitting on the left. In the middle was the Red Flower Society's
Great Helmsman Chen, while on either side of him sat a dwarf and a man with a
flowing white beard. Han bowed silently and sat down.
"Brother Han, I never
thought that we would meet again here," said Chen. "Our fates seem to
be tied."
Han hesitated for a moment.
"I know I agreed to give up my sword and return home," he said
finally. "But Master Wang insisted that I do this job. Out of feelings of
friendship and because I knew the valuables belonged to your family, I…"
"Brother Han," Xu
interrupted harshly. "We of the fighting community are very particular
about two things: trust and honour. By your own word, you have proved to be
untrustworthy. How do you think you should be dealt with?"
Han steeled himself.
"What is there to say? If you're going to kill me then kill me."
"There's no need to talk
like that," Chen said. "Master Wang has been grossly insulted by
Zhang Zhaozhong, and says that no matter what, he must fight it out with him.
We of the fighting community are very annoyed over this affair. What is your
relationship with Zhang Zhaozhong?"
"I've met him a few times
in Beijing, but we are from two different worlds. You couldn't say we had any
relationship."
"As I thought. Have a
look at this letter," said Chen, and handed him the note Wang had written.
Han knew that Wang always
showed the greatest respect for officialdom. But if Zhang really had been that
insulting, he would have been unable to swallow it. Having himself heard Wang
cursing and now seeing the letter, there was no room for doubt.
"I would like to see
Master Wang and discuss the situation with him," he said.
"There is not enough
time," Chen replied. "I would like you to take this letter to Zhang
now and you can see Master Wang when you return. Twelfth Brother, please come
here," he called. 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi emerged from an inner chamber and
Chen introduced him to Han. "Brother Shi will accompany you to see Zhang
Zhaozhong. You are unaware of how Zhang has caused Master Wang to lose face,
but there is no time to give you the details now. When you see Zhang, you can
say that Brother Shi here is a lead escort with the bodyguard agency. Do
exactly as he says."
Han's suspicions rose again
and he hesitated once more.
"Do you have any doubts,
Brother Han?"
"No, no," he
answered hastily.
Xu knew that Han suspected.
"Please wait a moment," he said. He left the hall for a moment,
returning with a flask of wine and a wine cup into which he poured some wine.
"I was too abrupt in what
I said just now," he said, offering the cup to Han. "Please accept
this as a token of my apology. Let there be no hard feelings."
"Well said!" Han
replied. He drained the cup, picked up the letter and walked towards the door.
"Oh no!" Xu suddenly
exclaimed. "Brother Han, I've made a mistake. That cup of wine had poison
in it!"
Han went pale, and he turned
back towards them.
"I am truly sorry,"
said Xu. "That flask was poisoned for use whenever needed and one of the
servants gave it to me by mistake. I didn't realize it until I smelt it. You've
already drunk a cupful. Brother Han, oh dear, oh dear. Get the antidote
quickly," he added to an attendant.
"The antidote is in the
east city residence," the attendant replied.
"You fool. Ride over
there and get it!" Xu shouted at him. The attendant bowed and left.
"I have been
neglectful," Xu said apologetically to Han. "Please deliver the
letter first. If you do exactly as Brother Shi says, you can take the antidote
when you get back, and everything will be fine."
Han knew he either did as the
Red Flower Society ordered or he was a dead man. He gave Xu a look of hatred,
then turned and walked out without a word. Shi followed him.
Lord Zhou frowned as the two
left. "Han doesn't appear to me to be all that evil," he said.
"Poisoning him like that was not a very honourable thing to do."
"But there was no poison
in the wine," Xu replied.
"No poison?"
"None." Xu poured
himself a cup and drank it down.
"I was afraid he might
mess up our plan in front of Zhang, so I scared him a little. When he comes
back, he can drink another cup and it will all be over."
The others laughed.
Zhang was sitting beside Wen
Tailai keeping watch when the cell door opened and a guard came in with a
visiting card inscribed with the words: ' North China Earth-Shaker Wang
Weiyang.'
"Go and tell him that I
cannot see visitors," he said.
The guard left, but returned a
moment later to say: "The visitors won't leave. They have a letter for
you."
Zhang read the letter, and was
both angered and perplexed by it. He had never had any disputes with Wang and
wondered why the old man should challenge him to a kung fu duel.
"Tell Commander Li that I
have to see a visitor and ask him to send someone to stand watch in my
place," he said to the guard.
Four bodyguards arrived to
replace him, and Zhang went to the reception hall. He recognized Lead Escort
Han and saluted him with his fists.
"Isn't Master Wang
here?" he asked.
"This is Lead Escort Shi
of our bodyguard agency," Han replied, pointing to his companion.
"There are a number of things Master Wang wants him to say to you."
Zhang threw Wang's letter onto
the table. "I have respected Wang from afar for a long time, but I have
never had any dealings with him whatsoever," he said. "How can he say
that my words and behaviour have gone too far? There appears to be some
misunderstanding here."
"Master Wang is a leading
member of the fighting community," said Shi coldly. "When the
community produces scum, he considers it to be his business regardless of
whether there is a direct connection."
Zhang stood up, absolutely
furious. "So Wang Weiyang says I am scum, does he?"
Shi said nothing in silent
confirmation.
"Please enlighten me as
to just how I have dishonoured the fighting community," demanded Zhang.
"Members of the fighting
community abhor disrespect for superiors above all else," Shi replied.
"You, Master Zhang, are a senior member of the Wudang School. It is said
that you have not only turned hostile towards your own martial brothers, but
have also attempted to arrest one of them for the Manchu court. Is this
true?"
"The affairs of my
martial brothers and I are of no concern to anyone else," Zhang said
angrily.
"Secondly, there is no
personal emnity between yourself and the Red Flower Society and yet purely for
the purpose of your own career and enrichment, you seized Master Wen Tailai,
and caused the death of the young son of Lord Zhou of Iron Gall Manor. Is your
mind at ease over such things?"
"I am employed by the
Emperor and I am loyal to him. What has that got to do with the Zhen Yuan
Bodyguard Agency?"
"Did you not work to
implicate the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency in your schemes, as a result of which
many of our men were killed and wounded?" said Shi.
"You really did do wrong
there, Master Zhang," Han added. "You can't blame Master Wang for
being angry."
"We will ignore other
examples for the moment," Shi continued coldly. "How do you think
these three questions should be handled?" He rolled up his eyes and struck
an expression of dignified authority.
Zhang was incensed at being
treated like a criminal in the dock. "All right, you," he shouted,
striding forward. "You're obviously looking for trouble!"
Shi retreated a pace.
"What's this?" he asked. "You want to take me on because you
don't dare to accept the North China Earth-Shaker's challenge, is that
it?"
"Who says I don't
dare?" Zhang roared. "I will be there on Lion Peak at noon
today."
"If you decide not to go,
then never again consider yourself to be a member of the fighting
community," Shi said. "Master Wang says that if you have any guts at
all, you will go alone. There will be no one else from the Bodyguard Agency
there."
"Why should I need help?
Do you think I am afraid of this egotistical, stupid old man?"
"Master Wang is not a
great orator," Shi continued, ignoring Zhang's comment. "When you
meet him, the issue will be decided by kung fu alone. If you want to curse and
swear, please feel free to do so now."
Zhang was speechless with
rage.
Shi laughed coldly, then
turned on his heel and left with Han following.
While the two had argued,
Han's mind had been on the poison he had taken, and wished that Shi would hurry
up and finish so that he could get back and take the antidote.
"We agreed to meet at
noon," Shi reported on their return to the mansion at Solitary Peak.
Han collapsed on a chair with
what appeared to be stomach cramps. Xu poured out a cup of wine and handed it
to him.
"This is the antidote.
Drink it up, Brother Han."
Han quickly stretched out his
hand to take it, but Lord Zhou snatched the cup away first and drank it down at
one draught. Han stared at him an amazement.
"We have joked with you
enough, Master Han," Zhou said with a smile. "You didn't take any
poison at all. He was just playing with you. Master Xu, come and
apologise."
Xu walked over, grinning and
bowed. "Please forgive me, Brother Han," he said.
Meng went in once more to see
Wang Weiyang. "Master Zhang has agreed," he said. "You can go
now. And by the way, he does not like naggers, so if you have anything to say,
say it now. When you get to Lion Peak, the matter will be decided with fists
and blades. If you try talking to him even to beg for mercy, I doubt if he will
listen to you. If you are afraid, there is still time to pull out."
"I am prepared to die
today if need be," Wang shouted, huffily stroking his beard. He stood up
and strode out. Meng motioned with his hands to an attendant who handed Wang
his sword and a bag of projectiles.
Han was standing by the door.
"Please be careful Master Wang," he said.
"You know about this too?"
Han nodded. "I have seen
Zhang."
"What did he call
me?"
"It was demeaning. You
would not wish to hear it."
"Speak," ordered
Wang.
"He called you… an
egotistical, stupid old man."
Wang grunted. "We shall
see whether or not I am egotistical. Brother Han, if anything should happen to
me, please look after the agency and the affairs of my family for me." He
hesitated. "And tell my two sons not to rush into taking revenge. Their
kung fu is still not good enough, and they would lose their lives to no good
purpose."
He then started out for Lion
Peak and the duel.
3
The slopes of Lion Peak
produce abundant quantities of tea, one of the most exquisite varieties of the
leaf under heaven. The mountain itself is high and precipitous, and few people go
to the very top.
Wang Weiyang, his great sword
slung across his back, clambered up the steep slope and emerged through the tea
bushes onto an expanse of open ground on the summit. He noticed walking towards
him a tall, robust man wearing a short jacket. The man stared at him for a
moment.
"Are you Wang
Weiyang?" he asked.
"Yes. And you are the
Fire Hand Judge, Zhang Zhaozhong?"
"I am. Do you wish to
fight bare-handed or with weapons?" Zhang was a very thorough man. He had
searched about carefully during his climb up the peak, but had found no sign of
anyone lying in ambush.
Wang was startled to see
Zhang's mouth and nose were swollen and with his right eye ringed in black,
injuries caused by Chen the night before. "We have no great grudges
against each other," thought Wang. "Why risk killing him with a
sword-stroke? The consequences of killing an official of his rank are
unthinkable. It will be enough to humiliate him with my Eight Diagram Kung Fu.
I'll show him I'm not egotistical."
"I would be honoured to
pit myself against your famous Limitless Occult Kung Fu, Master Zhang," he
said out loud.
"Fine," Zhang
replied. He brought his fists together in salute and waited for the other to
attack.
"If I may…" Wang
said, and as he spoke, his left fist shot out and his right hand sliced across
towards Zhang's right shoulder. Then in a flash, his left fist flipped over and
aimed for the right shoulder while the right hand went for the chest. Zhang
retreated three paces and fended off the blows. The two circled around,
surprised at the extent of the other's ability.
"His moves are fast and
powerful," Zhang thought. "He's a strong adversary."
"He avoided those blows
of mine with ease," Wang thought. "Fire Hand Judge is no
misnomer."
Suddenly, Zhang stepped forward
and swept his left leg across at Wang, who jumped clear off the ground to avoid
it and countered with a fist aimed at Zhang's face.
They were evenly matched and
fought close and fast. The sun was riding high and their two shadows danced on
the ground, merging and separating in a flash. Wang knew that at his age, a
long battle would finish him. So he quickly changed his style, and with one
hand protecting his body and the other facing outwards, he raced round Zhang,
his feet following the pattern of the Eight Diagrams.
The style dictated that he
keep moving, circling round Zhang to the left and right, waiting for an
opportunity to strike. It would make even a kung fu master dizzy after a few
circuits.
Zhang knew how ferocious this
style was, and lunged at his opponent. But Wang had already circled round the
other way. Suddenly he struck at Zhang with both fists, one of which slammed
into his shoulder. Zhang caught hold of Wang's wrist and struck out at his
elbow in retaliation. With his free hand, Wang swung at Zhang's other shoulder
and the two leapt apart.
Zhang had had the worst of the
encounter. "Your kung fu is excellent," he shouted. "Let us duel
with swords."
He drew his Frozen Emerald
sword, Wang also drew his sword and the two stood facing each other.
Zhang's mind was bent on
recovering face, and he struck out with a series of attacking sword strokes,
fast and vicious. Wang could tell from the way the light glinted on the Frozen
Emerald sword that it was a superb weapon, and knew that if the two swords
clashed, his own blade would come off the worst. So he did not dare to directly
parry the strokes.
They fought round and round.
Wang began to sweat and he secretly worked a number of darts into his palm and
then swapped his sword over to his left hand. He slashed out with a left-handed
stoke, and simultaneously flung the darts at Zhang. Zhang managed to dodge both
dangers, but he was becoming flustered by the onslaught. He swept his sword
across at Wang's waist, and as the two swords clashed, Wang's blade snapped
cleanly in two.
Wang roared and hurled the
remaining half at Zhang, and followed it with his remaining three darts. With a
cry, Zhang fell over backwards and the Frozen Emerald Sword dropped to the
ground.
"Master Zhang, forgive
me!" Wang cried out anxiously. "I have some Golden Scar Ointment
here."
Zhang was silent. Wang feared
he was dead, and killing a court official was no laughing matter so he rushed
across and bent down to examine Zhang.
As he did so, he saw flashes
of gold before his eyes. Cursing himself, he leant over backwards as fast as he
could, but too late. He felt stabs of pain in his left chest and shoulder as
the needles plunged home. He gave another angry roar and jumped up ready to
fight Zhang to the death. But as he swung his sword, the pain in his chest and
shoulder was so extreme that he fell back to the ground with a groan. Zhang
laughed out loud. He pulled one of Wang's darts from his wrist, ripped a strip
of cloth off his jacket, bound the wound then stood up.
"How could you attack me
when I was coming to see if you were injured?" Wang demanded angrily.
"What sort of man are you to do such a despicable thing? We'll see if you
have the effrontery to face the rest of the fighting community after today."
"There's only the two of
us here. Who else knows about it?" asked Zhang with a smile. "Having
lived to such a ripe old age, it's about time you went to meet your
forefathers."
He picked up half of Wang's
snapped sword and dug a hole in the ground, then heaved Wang to the edge of it.
"So you're the North
China Earth-Shaker," he said. "I'll give you some earth to
shake." He kicked Wang into the hole and began to bury him alive.
As he worked, he heard a long,
cold laugh from somewhere behind. He whirled round in fright and found Lead
Escort Han standing there with an Iron Pipa in his hand.
"So that's it!"
Zhang shouted angrily. "The Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency arranges a
one-to-one duel and secretly sets up an ambush. Do you have no shame?"
"It is you that is
shameless," Han replied pointing to Wang.
"All right, you can
demonstrate your Iron Pipa kung fu for me," Zhang said. He flew at Han
using Lightness Kung Fu and thrust his sword at him. Han retreated two steps
and a sword struck out at Zhang from amongst the bushes. Zhang parried the
stroke, and saw the swordsman was the other lead escort who had accompanied Han
to see him earlier.
"Come on, fight me
together. It is of no consequence to the Fire Hand Judge," he shouted.
Just as he was about to
strike, he heard a noise behind and turned to see eight or nine men walking
towards him led by the Red Flower Society's Great Helmsman, Chen Jialuo. A
shiver of panic passed through him, and he glanced about, looking for some
avenue of escape.
"Brother Han, go and look
after Master Wang," said Chen. Han ran over to the hole and helped Wang
out.
"Master Wang said he
wished to have a private duel with no observers or seconds," Zhang
shouted.
"My brothers and I came
to admire the scenery and happened to come across the two of you," Chen
replied. "It was a very artistic display, but you did not win very
honourably, Master Zhang."
"We were matching our
strength and our wits. What is wrong with such a victory?"
"You are wise indeed,
Master Zhang." Chen walked slowly forward. "We want to rescue Master
Wen."
"Well?"
"His manacles are made of
the finest steel which no file could get through. I therefore have no
alternative but to ask you to lend us your excellent sword. As a member of the
fighting community, I am sure you will be happy to oblige."
Zhang looked at the number of
his adversaries and knew it would be difficult to get away.
"If you wish to borrow my
sword, you will have to take it by force," he said. He turned and sprinted
towards the southern path down the mountain slope. Suddenly, he saw in front of
him the one-armed Taoist priest, and slung two Golden Needles at him. He knew
there was no chance of hitting the priest, but he hoped that the needles would
occupy him long enough to get past. Priest Wu Chen, however, deftly dodged out
of the way then crouched down and thrust his sword at Zhang's right leg. Zhang
brought his own blade down to parry the stroke and the two fought fiercely.
Zhang found his strength beginning to wane. The priest gave a shout and the
Frozen Emerald sword was jolted out of Zhang's hand. For a split second, Zhang
stared at it in surprise, and the priest aimed a flying kick at his groin,
knocking him to the ground. Zhang Jin and two of the other fighters then jumped
on him while Luo Bing pulled out some rope and bound his hands. Remembering
Zhang had led the capture of her husband at Iron Gall Manor, she punched him
smartly on the nose.
Chen walked over.
"You have only won
because of numerical superiority," Zhang shouted angrily. "If you
bandits are going to kill me then get it over with."
"He ought to be buried in
the hole that he dug," suggested 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi. The others
shouted their agreement, and Zhang broke into a cold sweat.
"What do you say?"
asked Chen. "If you admit defeat and swear never again to go against the
Red Flower Society, we will spare you for the sake of your martial brother,
Master Lu."
"Stop wasting
words!" Zhang shouted stubbornly. "After all your crafty tricks, how
can you expect anyone to concede defeat to you?"
"All right," said
Chen. "I will kill you to relieve you of the horror of being buried
alive." He pulled out his dagger and walked over to Zhang. "Are you
not afraid of death?" he asked.
"Do your worst,"
Zhang replied, and laughed bitterly. He closed his eyes and waited for death.
Suddenly they heard shouts
from the mountainside below, and turned to see two men running towards them,
moving as fast as the wind with superb Lightness Kung Ku.
As they approached, the heroes
saw that one was Lu Feiqing, and the other a kindly-looking old Taoist priest.
Just as Lu was about to
introduce the old man, Zhang went up to him and bowed.
"Brother, we have not
seen each other for many years," he said. "How are you?"
The heroes realized that it
must be Ma Zhen, 'Scholar' Yu's teacher. They all bowed before him.
"We came as fast as we
could when we heard about the duel," Lu said. He looked round and saw with
relief that no-one had been injured.
Ma Zhen had long heard of
Zhang's unsavoury record, but seeing his blood-stained clothes and swollen
face, he now found himself feeling almost sorry for him. "Brother Zhang,
how did you get into such a mess?" he asked.
"With one against so
many, how could I look any different?" Zhang replied indignantly.
The heroes were furious at his
insinuation. "So you're blameless are you?" shouted Zhou Qi. She
brandished her sword and made as to charge at Zhang, but her father held her
back.
"His two martial brothers
are here now," Lord Zhou said. "Let us see what they have to
say." His words put the onus of dealing with Zhang squarely on Ma Zhen.
Ma Zhen looked at Lu, and then
at Zhang. Suddenly, his knees folded and he knelt down before the heroes.
Greatly surprised, Chen helped him up again.
"My brothers," he
said, his voice choked with sobs. "This useless martial brother of mine
has committed truly heinous crimes. To the shame of our school, we have failed
to discipline him and have lost face before all our brothers in the fighting
community…I…I…" He was overcome with emotion. "Brother Lu," he
added. "Tell them what I mean."
"Brother Ma is very angry
about Zhang's behaviour. But in memory of our late teacher, he wishes to ask
you to spare him."
The heroes looked at Chen and
Lord Zhou, waiting for their decision.
"Master Zhou will be the
arbiter," said Chen. "We will do whatever he says."
"Considering he had Iron
Gall Manor burnt to the ground, I should not rest until revenge has been
gained," Zhou said, then paused. "But having heard your words, Master
Ma, I will hand him over to you with all past scores forgotten."
"Father!" Zhou Qi
cried, horrified.
Zhou stroked her hair.
"Forget about it, child," he said softly.
"Out of respect for your
wishes, Master Ma, the Red Flower Society will also let bygones be
bygones," added Chen.
Ma and Lu bowed to the heroes.
"We will be eternally grateful," said Ma.
"Brother Ma, what do you
intend to do if he does evil again?" Priest Wu Chen asked sternly.
"I will insist that he
turn over a new leaf," Ma replied. "But if he does revert to his old
ways, then I will be the first to strike, unless he kills me first! I will now
take him back to Wudang Mountain so that he can reflect on his misdeeds in
solitude. Brother Lu, once Master Wen is out of danger, please write and inform
me so that my mind can rest easy. By the way, where is my pupil, Yu
Yutong?"
"He was separated from us
at the Yellow River," Chen replied. "We later heard that he had been
rescued by a girl, but we have no further information. As soon as we have
rescued Brother Wen, we will go and investigate. Please don't worry, sir."
"That pupil of mine is
very clever but he is not steady enough. Please give him whatever direction is
necessary, Master Chen."
"We treat our brothers as
blood relations," Chen replied. "Brother Yu is a capable man. We
place great faith in him."
"I am very grateful for
what you have done today," said Ma. "My brothers! Next time any of
you are in Hubei Province, please come to stay at Wudang Mountain." The
heroes all thanked him.
"All right, let's
go!" Ma told Zhang curtly. Zhang noticed that Luo Bing had slung his
Frozen Emerald Sword across her back, and he knew that to try to retrieve it
would only result in more punishment. So he bit his lip and followed after Ma
Zhen, his head bowed.
When they had gone, the others
asked Lu what had happened to him since they had parted. He told them that for
a time he had searched unsuccessfully for Yuanzhi. Then, realising that Zhang
was the key to the affair, he went south and asked Ma Zhen to help him. They
hurried to Beijing only to discover that Zhang had gone to Hangzhou, so they
travelled south once more.
The heroes walked slowly down
from the peak, talking as they went. Chen turned to Wang and Han.
"You are both free to
go," he said.
"Master Chen, I will
never forget how you saved my life," Wang replied.
Chen laughed. "I must ask
your forgiveness, Master Wang," he said and related how they had stolen
the jade vases and provoked the duel between himself and Zhang. Having just
escaped from the jaws of death, Wang did not seem to blame him for the
deception.
"You are certainly a born
leader," he said to Chen, and laughed. "So young and already a hero.
I may be old, but I still have a thing or two to learn."
"When our affairs have
been successfully concluded, we will drink a few cups of wine together,"
Chen replied.
They arrived at the lake and
returned to Lonely Mountain by boat. Lu Feiqing extracted the Golden Needles
from Wang's wounds with the use of a magnet, and then treated them with Golden
Scar ointment.
By this time, evening was
approaching.
"Most of the work on the
tunnel has been completed," Master Ma, the Hangzhou Helmsman, reported.
"We should be finished in another six hours."
Chen nodded. "Good, thank
you Brother Ma. Thirteenth Brother, please go and supervise the work."
'Crocodile' Jiang bowed and left.
Chen turned once more to Wang
and Han.
"We have been looking
after a few members of your honourable bodyguard agency," he said.
"Why don't you take them to the lake for some recreation?"
Wang watched the Red Flower
Society fighters hurrying to and fro and guessed they were preparing to rescue
Wen Tailai. He decided that if he were to go out by himself now and the plan
should go wrong, they could easily suspect that he had informed the
authorities.
"I am getting old, and
what with these Golden Needle wounds, I am not feeling at all well," he
replied. "I would like to rest here for a day."
"As you wish," said
Chen.
4
The heroes ate a full meal and
then returned to their rooms to rest. At six o'clock that evening, an attendant
reported that the tunnel diggers were already under the Commander-in-Chief's
Yamen, but that a large rock was blocking their path which they were trying to
dig around. Chen and Xu assigned their forces: some were to attack from the
left, some from the right, and some would be held in reserve. At about eight
o'clock, the attendant returned to report that the diggers had come up against
an iron plate and had decided to stop work for a while for fear of alerting those
inside.
"We will wait another two
hours and then make our move," Chen said.
During those two hours, the
heroes could hardly control their impatience. Zhang Jin paced up and down the
hall mumbling curses. Master Ma kept taking out a large gold watch and checking
the time while Chen read a book.
"The time has
arrived," Ma finally announced.
The heroes all charged for the
door. They donned various disguises and made their way separately through the
darkened streets of Hangzhou to a house just outside the Commander-in-Chief's
Yamen.
'Crocodile' Jiang was waiting
for them. "This area is being tightly patrolled by Manchu troops," he
said. "Be as quiet as possible."
He stood at the entrance of
the tunnel with his iron oar at the ready, as the heroes filed through one by
one. The tunnel had been dug deep, and with Hangzhou being such a low-lying
area, it was ankle-deep in water. By the time they reached the big rock, the
muddy water was up to their chests, while several dozen yards further on, it
rose to their heads.
Seven or eight attendants were
waiting near the iron plate with torches and spades in hand.
"Start work!" Chen
ordered.
With the Great Helmsman there
watching them, the attendants worked like demons, and soon shifted the rock to
the side of the iron plate. Another moment of furious digging and the iron
plate was dislodged, and 'Leopard' Wei, his pair of hooks at the ready, went
through first with the rest of the heroes behind.
The attendants held the
torches high to illuminate the way as Wei ran along a corridor towards Wen's
cell, but found the way blocked by a locked iron gate.
"Eighth Brother, Ninth
Brother," said Xu suddenly. "Go and guard the exit to the dungeon
just in case the Manchus have some secret scheme."
Yang and Wei assented and
left. Several of the attendants worked to loosen the stones to the side of the
gate, and then with the help of several of the heroes, lifted the gate out of
position. Luo Bing ran through, and into Wen's cell only to find it empty.
After so many disappointments,
Luo Bing crumpled onto the floor and began to sob. Zhou Qi wanted to comfort
her, but her father held her back.
"Let her be," he
said. "A cry will do her good."
"Commander Li was afraid
we would come to organise a jail break and has moved Fourth Brother somewhere
else," Xu said.
"But now we are in the
Yamen, we will find him no matter what," Chen replied.
They went to the door of the
dungeon and saw Yang fighting fiercely with a group of Manchu soldiers. Priest
Wu Chen gave a shout and charged out of the dungeon and finished off two Manchu
soldiers on the spot. Further on, they found Wei battling six or seven
officers.
"Considering my
relationship with Commander Li, I had better not reveal myself," Lu
Feiqing thought. He ripped a strip off his gown and covered his face so that
only the eyes were showing. Just then, the Manchu soldiers broke and retreated
up to the Yamen courtyard in confusion with Wei and the others in hot pursuit.
Xu leapt up onto a nearby wall
and saw soldiers standing guard throughout the whole Yamen. A drum sounded, and
Xu guessed the commanders were still positioning their soldiers. Then he
spotted a lonely two-storey building in the southern part of the main courtyard
surrounded by several hundred troops. There was nothing special about the
building except for the tight defences, and he decided that was probably where
Wen was being held. He jumped down from the wall and whirled his sword around
his head.
"Brothers, follow
me!" he shouted, and charged towards the building.
The further they went, the
more soldiers appeared. But despite their numerical superiority, the Manchu
troops were unable to contain the Red Flower Society fighters, each of them a
master of the martial arts. In only a short while, the heroes had fought to
within a few yards of the building.
"Third Brother, let's go
and have a look inside," Priest Wu Chen said to 'Buddha' Zhao.
"Right," said Zhao,
and they sprang over to the doorway with two long strides. A sword sliced
towards them, but with one thrust from the priest's blade, the swordsman
screamed and his weapon clattered to the ground. They raced into the building
with Luo Bing and the others close behind.
As the fighting continued, the
heroes found the numbers of Manchu soldiers diminishing. Suddenly they heard
Priest Wu Chen yell from upstairs: "Fourth Brother is here! We've got
him!" The heroes shouted in joy.
Zhou Qi raced up the stairs
and saw everyone gathered round an iron cage. Chen was sawing at the bars with
the Frozen Emerald Sword. Zhou Qi went close and noticed that inside the iron
cage was another smaller cage in which Wen sat with his legs and arms manacled
like a captured wild animal. Chen sawed through two bars, and Zhang Jin used
brute strength to twist them back. Luo Bing, thanks to her slim figure, managed
to wriggle into the outer cage, then took the sword from Chen and began to saw
away at the lock on the small cage. The heroes were all smiling jubilantly.
Suddenly they heard a bugle sound, and the remaining Manchu troops retreated
out about one hundred feet and formed themselves into ranks around the
building.
"Master Chen!"
someone shouted from amongst the Manchu ranks. "I wish to speak with
Master Chen!"
Chen went to the window and
spotted Commander Li outside. "I am here. What is it, Commander?"
"Come out quickly or you
will all die."
"We will not come out
alone, even faced with death," Chen replied. "I am sorry, but today
we intend to leave with Master Wen."
"Don't be so
stubborn," Li shouted. "Start the fire!"
The troops pushed out huge
piles of firewood and grass and surrounded the building with them. The firewood
was soaked in oil and a second after a torch was thrown into it, a fiery ring
sprang up with the heroes trapped inside.
Chen could see how dangerous
the situation was, but he remained calm. "Everyone together," he said
quietly. "Cut through the bars as quickly as you can."
A man walked out from behind
Li and pointed angrily at Chen. "Death is staring you in the face and
still you don't go down on your knees and beg for mercy?" he boomed.
"Do you realize what we have in that building?"
As Chen stood thinking, he
heard Xu exclaim in their secret code: "Oh no, they've packed the place
with gunpowder."
Chen noticed a row of wooden
barrels around the room they were in. With a quick movement, he smashed one of
them open and black dust flew out in all directions, the smell of saltpetre
filling their noses. His heart froze. "Is the whole Red Flower Society
going to be blown to pieces today?" he wondered. He turned and saw the
inner cage had been opened and Luo Bing helping Wen out.
"Sister Luo Bing, Brother
Zhao!" he shouted. "You two look after Fourth Brother. Everyone else
follow me." He charged down the stairs. Zhang Jin bent over and heaved Wen
onto his back while Luo Bing and Zhao escorted them down to the ground floor.
As they reached the door, they saw swarms of arrows like locusts flying at
them. Wei and the Twin Knights tried several times to break out of the
building, but each time they were forced back inside.
"You are standing in a
gunpowder keg and I have the fuse here," Commander Li shouted. He raised a
fiery torch and waved it.
"As soon as I light the
fuse, you will all be burnt to ashes. Put Wen down immediately."
Chen knew that what he said
was true, but he also guessed that because of Wen's importance to the Emperor,
Li would not dare to light the fuse.
"Put Fourth Brother
down!" he shouted. "Let's get out of here!" He brandished his
long sword and charged out with Wei and the Twin Knights at his side.
Zhang Jin, running flat out
with his head down, didn't hear what Chen had said.
"Put Fourth Brother
down," Zhao told him. "It's too dangerous. We've got to get out or
he'll get killed."
Zhang Jin placed Wen on the
ground near the door. Luo Bing hesitated, but Zhang Jin grabbed her arm and
charged on after the others. Li saw in the firelight that they had abandoned
Wen, and with a wave of his hand ordered the archers to stop firing to prevent
him being hit by mistake.
Having made it out of the
building, the heroes regrouped by the wall.
"Eighth Brother, Ninth
Brother, Tenth Brother and the Twin Knights, you five lead an attack on the
Manchu troops and disperse them," ordered Chen. "Brother Xu, you
think of a way to cut the gunpowder fuse. The rest of you, as soon as that's
done, we will go back and rescue Fourth Brother."
Commander Li was just about to
order someone over to keep watch on Wen when he spotted the Twin Knights
approaching. He hastily shouted to a detachment of Imperial Bodyguards who
raced over to intercept the Red Flower Society fighters.
Lu Feiqing was the first to
spot a way out of the dilemma. He ran like an arrow straight for Commander Li.
Li's bodyguards moved to stop him, but Lu dodged to left and right and slipped
past them all. In a moment, he was at Li's side. Yuanzhi, wearing boy's
clothes, was standing by her father's side. Seeing this strange masked man
charging forward, she cried out shrilly: "How dare you!" and thrust
her sword straight at his chest. Lu ducked under the stroke, then slipped round
behind Commander Li and gave him a powerful shove which sent him reeling
forward. Full of fear for her father, Yuanzhi struck out again with her sword,
but Lu dodged out of the way once more, picked Li up in his arms and ran inside
the circle of fire. The Manchu troops shouted in alarm, but the heat from the
flames was so intense that none dared to follow him.
The Red Flower Society heroes
saw Lu carrying Commander Li into the danger zone, and Zhang Jin and
'Crocodile' Jiang went in after them.
"That's enough,"
ordered Chen. "No-one else need go in."
The Manchu troops completely
ignored the Red Flower Society fighters, and stared anxiously at the men in the
centre of the ring of fire. Suddenly, someone with a torch leapt over to the
gunpowder fuse and lit it. Deng Tunan recognized him as Imperial Bodyguard Fan
who had shamed himself in front of the Emperor the day before. He bore such a
deep grudge over the incident, that he wanted only to snatch victory away from
the Red Flower Society with no concern for whether Commander Li lived or died.
The thread of sparks whirled
off at an incredible speed. Once it reached the circle of fire, disaster would
be inevitable. The Manchu troops scattered in panic and in the midst of the confusion,
a figure, his face covered with a blue silk mask, raced forward and threw
himself down on to the gunpowder. His clothes burst into flames, but the fuse
was stopped.
The immediate danger past,
Zhang Jin and 'Crocodile' Jiang charged out through the circle of fire with Wen
Tailai in their arms. The flames were now even more fierce, and all three
caught fire. The Twin Knights, racing forward to meet them, shouting:
"Roll! Roll!" Zhang Jin and Jiang first put Wen down and rolled him
about until all the flames on him had been extinguished, then put out their own
fires. Luo Bing ran up to attend to Wen.
The Twin Knights meanwhile ran
over to rescue the masked man, who had collapsed on the ground. By the time the
flames had been extinguished, his body was a mass of burns.
Once Wen was out of danger, Lu
slung Commander Li over his shoulder, took a deep breath and leapt back out of
the circle like a great bird.
"We've done it!"
Chen shouted. "Retreat, retreat!"
Priest Wu Chen led the way,
his sword flying, and the others followed, the Twin Knights carrying the masked
man, Zhang Jin carrying Wen and Lu with Commander Li over his shoulder.
The Manchu troops chased after
them, shouting and yelling, but none dared get too close. The Imperial
Bodyguards, however, were frantic at the sight of Wen escaping: his loss could
cost them their heads. Among them was Fan, the one who had lit the fuse. Chen
handed the Frozen Emerald sword to 'Buddha' Zhao.
"Cover the others as they
retreat, Third Brother," he said. "I'm going to deal with this
fellow." He pulled out his 'Pearl Strings', the ropes with steel balls
fastened to the ends, and with a flick of his hand, sent them flying towards
Fan.
Fan tried to leap out of the
way, but he was not quick enough, and the strings wrapped themselves round his
legs. Chen yanked them back fiercely, and threw Fan into the heart of the
roaring flames.
By this time, almost all of
the heroes had escaped over the Yamen walls. Chen raised his hand and shouted
to the rest: "Retreat!"
'Leopard' Wei raced over to
the gunpowder fuse and relit it, and the Manchu troops cried out in fear as the
remaining Red Flower Society fighters retired.
Suddenly, there was a blinding
flash, and a roar as the gunpowder stacked in the building ignited. Explosion
followed explosion, black smoke swirled up and bricks flew in all directions.
The soldiers and guardsmen threw themselves on the ground, but despite their
great distance from the building, several dozen of them had their heads smashed
to pieces by stray bricks and pieces of wood. By the time the rest crawled back
onto their feet, the Red Flower Society heroes were gone.
Only when they were certain
they were not being chased did the heroes relax. They rode out of Hangzhou and
arrived at a river with more than a dozen boats lined up along the bank. The
heroes joyfully boarded the craft.
"Master Chen," Lu
Feiqing whispered. "I have had connections with Commander Li in the past.
Now that Brother Wen is safe, why don't we let him go?"
"Whatever you say,"
Chen replied, and on his orders, an attendant untied Li's bonds and released
him.
"Anchors aweigh!"
Chen called. "Head for Jiaxing!"
The rivers and canals of
Zhejiang Province are an endless maze with countless twists and turns, and in a
moment the boats had disappeared.
"We'll head west and take
Fourth Brother to Heavenly Eye Mountain to convalesce," said Chen.
"Let Commander Li race off to Jiaxing after us!"
The heroes all burst out
laughing and the accumulated low spirits of several months were swept away.
Dawn was just breaking as Luo
Bing wiped Wen's body clean. His manacles had been sawn off with the Frozen
Emerald sword, and he was in a deep sleep.
"Great Helmsman,"
said Xu. "That masked man who saved Fourth Brother is very badly wounded. Shall
we have a look at him?"
"Since he keeps his face
covered, he obviously does not wish to be recognized. I don't think we
should," said Lord Zhou.
Xin Yan gently applied white
soya sauce to the masked man's burns, but his whole body had been blistered by
the flames, and he cried out incessantly in pain. His hands were clawing about
aimlessly as he screamed in pain, and suddenly ripped the mask off. The heroes
all cried out in unison: "Fourteenth Brother!"
It was 'Scholar' Yu. They
looked at his face, red-black and swollen with countless blisters, and were
horrified. Luo Bing brought over a wet cloth and lightly wiped the dirt and
gunpowder from his face then applied more white soya sauce. Whenever she
thought about his disgraceful behaviour that night near Iron Gall Manor she
still felt angry, but having seen what he was willing to go through to save her
own husband, she knew that his infatuation was more than just lust. She looked
down at him and wondered how she could ever repay him.
The boats docked and Master Ma
sent someone hurrying off to find a doctor. When he came, the doctor examined
Wen and said: "This gentleman's wounds are only superficial. He is strong
and healthy, and with several months of recuperation there should be no
problem." Pointing at Yu, he added: "This gentleman, however, has
extremely serious burns. There is a danger that the fire poison will attack his
heart. I will make out a prescription to counter it and have another look
later." From his tone, he appeard to consider it hopeless.
The doctor went ashore. A
while later, Wen opened his eyes and looked at everyone standing around him.
"What are you all doing
here?" he asked wearily.
Luo Bing burst into tears.
"Brother!" she cried happily. "You've come back. You've come
back!"
Wen nodded slightly and closed
his eyes again.
During the night battle at the
Yellow River crossing, Yuanzhi had been cut off from the Red Flower Society
fighters. She spotted a carriage and jumped into it, urged the mules and raced
blindly away. It was only next morning when she had put a great distance
between herself and the Manchu army that she stopped to rest. Opening the
carriage curtain, she found 'Scholar' Yu lying inside unconscious and badly
wounded. After carefully considering the situation, she climbed back onto the
carriage and drove on to Wenguang town.
As the daughter of an
official, she was used to doing things in an impressive manner. She chose the
largest residence in the town and knocked on it's door to ask for lodgings. The
residence belonged to the evil landowner, Tang, who took them in. When Tang was
found murdered, Yu realized immediately that they could be implicated, and they
escaped in the confusion. Yuanzhi was planning to go to Hangzhou to be with her
parents and Yu, knowing that Hangzhou was also where Wen was being held,
decided they may as well go together. He was still seriously wounded, and
Yuanzhi looked after him carefully as they travelled.
When they reached Hangzhou,
Yuanzhi told her parents that Yu had been wounded while saving her from
bandits, and her father, Commander Li, allowed him to stay in the Yamen as an
expression of his gratitude. A doctor was called to treat his injuries. When Li
saw what a refined person Yu was, skilled in both scholarly and martial pursuits,
he decided that once his wounds had healed he would invite Yu to become his
son-in-law. Little did he know that Yu was also a key member of the Red Flower
Society.
5
When Qian Long was told that
the Red Flower Society had rescued Wen, he was both surprised and angry. But he
decided there was nothing to be gained in punishing the Imperial Bodyguards. He
could see from their wounds that they had fought bravely.
A while later, Commander Li
also arrived, and was informed by the Emperor that a decision on whether or not
he would lose his post would be deferred until later. Li was overjoyed at this
unexpected luck.
After Li had left, Qian Long
thought about Wen's escape and wondered if his secret would get out. From what
Wen had said, it did not appear that he knew, but there was something about his
manner which suggested there was still much he could tell. Wen had said there
were two important pieces of evidence hidden somewhere and he wondered what the
evidence could be. He was already almost certain he was a Chinese and not a
Manchu, but what good could come of such knowledge leaking out?
He paced about the room,
extremely angry that he, the Son of Heaven, should be out-witted by a band of
brigands. If they discovered his secret, would he be forced to submit to them
for the rest of his life on pain of having the secret revealed? The more he
thought about it, the angrier he became, and he picked up a large porcelain
flower vase and threw it violently to the floor.
The guards and eunuchs waiting
outside heard the crash clearly and trembled in their boots, not daring to
enter.
Qian Long passed most of the
day in a state of mental confusion. Towards evening, he heard the sound of
gentle music drifting in from outside. The music moved closer and closer, passed
by the gates of the Yamen then gradually receded. A moment later, another
musical troupe passed by. He had always been very fond of music, and hearing it
now, his mood suddenly changed.
"Servants!" he
shouted.
A senior bodyguard named He
Jia, who had recently come to favour, hurried in. Hearing the Emperor's call,
the others had pushed him forward.
"What is that music
outside?" Qian Long asked. "Go and find out."
After a while, He Jia came
back to report: "Your slave made enquiries and learned that all of the
famous courtesans of Hangzhou will gather on the West Lake this evening to
choose what they call the 'Top Candidate of the Boudoir', as well as second,
third and fourth ranking candidates."
"How dare they make fun
of the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in such a way!" Qian Long said,
amused. "Ridiculous!"
Seeing the smile on the
Emperor's face, he advanced a step and added in a low voice: "I heard that
the Four Beauties of Qiantang River will be there."
"And who are the Four
Beauties of Qiantang River?"
"Your slave was talking
to a local just now who said that they are the four most famous prostitutes of
Hangzhou. Everyone out in the streets is trying to guess which one will be the
Top Candidate of the Boudoir this year."
"The Top Candidate in the
Imperial Examination is chosen by me. Who chooses this Top Candidate of the
Boudoir? Don't tell me there is an Emperor of the Boudoir as well?"
"I hear that each
prostitute sits in a flower boat on which are displayed the gold and jewels presented
by her customers. Then the winner is chosen by some of Hangzhou 's most eminent
gentlemen."
"When do they play this
game?" Qian Long asked, fascinated.
"It starts soon," He
Jia replied. "As soon as it gets a bit darker, the judging will begin. If
Your Highness is interested, you could go and watch."
Qian Long smiled. "I'm
afraid people may laugh at me," he said. "If the Empress should hear
that I chose the Top Candidate manner which suggested there was still much he
could tell. Wen had said there were two important pieces of evidence hidden
somewhere and he wondered what the evidence could be. He was already almost
certain he was a Chinese and not a Manchu, but what good could come of such
knowledge leaking out?
He paced about the room,
extremely angry that he, the Son of Heaven, should be out-witted by a band of
brigands. If they discovered his secret, would he be forced to submit to them
for the rest of his life on pain of having the secret revealed? The more he
thought about it, the angrier he became, and he picked up a large porcelain
flower vase and threw it violently to the floor.
The guards and eunuchs waiting
outside heard the crash clearly and trembled in their boots, not daring to
enter.
Qian Long passed most of the
day in a state of mental confusion. Towards evening, he heard the sound of
gentle music drifting in from outside. The music moved closer and closer,
passed by the gates of the Yamen then gradually receded. A moment later,
another musical troupe passed by. He had always been very fond of music, and
hearing it now, his mood suddenly changed.
"Servants!" he
shouted.
A senior bodyguard named He
Jia, who had recently come to favour, hurried in. Hearing the Emperor's call,
the others had pushed him forward.
"What is that music outside?"
Qian Long asked. "Go and find out."
After a while, He Jia came
back to report: "Your slave made enquiries and learned that all of the
famous courtesans of Hangzhou will gather on the West Lake this evening to
choose what they call the 'Top Candidate of the Boudoir', as well as second,
third and fourth ranking candidates."
"How dare they make fun
of the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in such a way!" Qian Long said,
amused. "Ridiculous!"
Seeing the smile on the
Emperor's face, he advanced a step and added in a low voice: "I heard that
the Four Beauties of Qiantang River will be there."
"And who are the Four
Beauties of Qiantang River?"
"Your slave was talking
to a local just now who said that they are the four most famous prostitutes of Hangzhou.
Everyone out in the streets is trying to guess which one will be the Top
Candidate of the Boudoir this year."
"The Top Candidate in the
Imperial Examination is chosen by me. Who chooses this Top Candidate of the
Boudoir? Don't tell me there is an Emperor of the Boudoir as well?"
"I hear that each
prostitute sits in a flower boat on which are displayed the gold and jewels
presented by her customers. Then the winner is chosen by some of Hangzhou 's
most eminent gentlemen."
"When do they play this
game?" Qian Long asked, fascinated.
"It starts soon,"He
Jia replied. "As soon as it gets a bit darker, the judging will begin. If
Your Highness is interested, you could go and watch."
Qian Long smiled. "I'm
afraid people may laugh at me,"he said. "If the Empress should hear
that I chose the Top Candidate of the Boudoir, she may have something to say
about it. Ha, ha!"
"If Your Highness dressed
up as a member of the common people, no one would know," He Jia suggested.
"All right, we'll go and
have a quiet look and then come back. But tell everyone not to attract
attention,"said Qian Long.
He Jia quickly helped Qian
Long change into a long silk gown and a closely-embroidered jacket, the attire
of a member of the gentry. Then they left for the West Lake together with Bai
Zhen and several dozen bodyguards.
Once at the lakeside, a
bodyguard steered a boat up to meet them. Music and singing could be heard
coming from different parts of the lake, while the multitude of lanterns
provided a sumptuous sight. They watched as more than twenty flower boats
glided lazily back and forth over the water, each boat draped with silk
curtains and lanterns. Qian Long ordered the oarsman to steer close to the
flower boats. Some of them were decorated with flowers and animals cleverly
constructed out of silk and lit with lanterns. Qian Long sighed in praise for
the richness of life in the south of China with which the north could not hope
to compete. As many as a hundred other small boats moved to and fro carrying
well-to-do pleasure seekers.
A gong sounded and the music
from the boats ceased. One rocket after another soared up into the air and
burst in a dazzling array of colours before falling into the lake with a hiss.
As the firework display ended, the curtains on each flower boat were drawn
apart simultaneously to reveal a gorgeously-attired woman seated inside.
Thunderous cheers and applause arose from every part of the lake.
Servants produced wine and
food for the Emperor to partake of while enjoying the scene. The boat slid
slowly over the lake past the flower boats. Qian Long, who kept three thousand
concubines in his palace, had seen countless beauties in his time. But now,
with the lanterns reflecting on the water, the splash of the oars and the
slight waft of perfume, he was completely captivated. They neared the boats of
the Four Beauties of the Qiantang River, and saw they were different from the
other flower boats. One was decorated entirely with paper water lilies while
the second was topped by two pagodas. The third was decked out as the Lunar
Palace and lit with lanterns shaped as toads and hares, the animals which are
supposed to inhabit the moon.
Qian Long gasped in delight.
As they glided towards the fourth, he saw it was decorated entirely with real
bushes and flowers, the branches criss-crossing each other and covered with a
thick foliage, as simple as nature, and as beautiful as a painting. The
courtezan, dressed all in white, was seated with her back to them, but she had
an air of other-worldliness about her, as of a goddess.
Overwhelmed, Qian Long could
not help but sing out a line from the opera, 'The Western Chamber': "Oh,
will you not turn your face to me?"
The prostitute, hearing the
snatch of song, did indeed turn and smiled. Qian Long's heart leapt: it was the
girl he had met on the West Lake several days before, Beautiful Jade.
He heard the tinkle of a
feminine voice as the courtesan on the water lily boat began to sing. At the
end of the song, the crowd applauded and a pile of ingots, big and small
mounted on the table in front of her. Then the courtesan in the Twin-Pagoda
boat picked up a pipa and lightly strummed a tune, following which the third
played the flute. Qian Long ordered He Jia to give her ten taels of gold.
The pleasure launches then
crowded round Beautiful Jade's boat. She opened her ruby lips, revealing her
sparkling white teeth, and began to sing accompanied by a flute.
It was the middle of the
eighth month and it was already cool on the lake, but Beautiful Jade's voice
suggested warm breezes and fragrant flowers.
"Such talent," Qian
Long sighed.
To his great delight,
Beautiful Jade's dew-drop eyes constantly looked over in his direction as she
sang. Qian Long loved demonstrating his talents in art, calligraphy and poetry
and his ministers, not surprisingly, praised everything he did. But for a
beautiful woman to favour him not because of reverence for his position as
Emperor, but because of his real worth meant she had recognized his ardour,
good looks and talent. Famous courtesans are truly discerning, he thought. He
immediately ordered He Jia to present Beautiful Jade with fifty taels of gold.
The boats of all the
courtesans were piled up with gifts, especially those of the Four Beauties.
Midnight approached and the judge began the job of inspecting the gifts. As
with the imperial examinations, not only the courtesans, but also the
spectators on the lake, were anxious about the outcome.
Qian Long said a few quiet
words to He Jia, who nodded and hurried back to the Yamen. He returned a while
later with a package.
The inspection over, the boats
all clustered round the launch on which the judge sat to hear him announce the
winners.
"The gifts presented to
Miss Twin Pagodas are the most numerous," he announced. There was a roar
from the other boats as some applauded and some groaned.
"Not so fast,"
someone shouted. "I will present one hundred taels of gold to Miss Water
Lily."
"And I present Miss Lunar
Palace with a jade bracelet and ten pearls," another wealthy gentleman called
out. The crowd saw the green bracelet and the large round pearls sparkling
under the lantern light and knew that they must be worth well over a hundred
taels of gold. All concluded that Miss Lunar Palace was certain to be chosen at
the Top Candidate for the years.
Suddenly He Jia called out:
"Our master has a number of items he would like to present to Miss
Beautiful Jade!"
A servant carried the package
over to the judge, a man of about forty with a lean, handsome face and a wisp
of moustache. He opened it to find it contained three scrolls. He turned to the
old man on his left and said: "Master Fan, this is indeed a refined
gentleman. I wonder what treasures he has presented?" He ordered the
servants to unrill the scrolls.
As the first scroll was
unrolled, the judge and the others started in surprise: it was a poem written
in the hand of the famous cillgrapher, Zu Yunning.
"This is extremely
valuable," exclaimed the man called Master Fan. They hurriedly opened the
second scroll and saw it was a painting of flowers on the top of which was the
Imperial vermilion seal of Qian Long. Yuan Mei was puzzled and turned to ask
his colleagues if they knew who the benefactor was. They looked at the scrolls
and pondered silently.
"Why don't we go over and
meet him?" one finally suggested.
"If we do that, people
will accuse us of being unfair," replied another. "With such
treasures as these two scrolls, the Top Candidate is obviously Beautiful
Jade."
"Let us have a look at
the third scroll," suggested a third.
They unrolled it and saw it
was a piece of unsigned calligraphy.
"Not very graceful,"
remarked one of the experts. "The writing style lacks strength."
"Shh! It's written in the
Emperor's hand," another whispered urgently. The others all jumped in fright
and dared not discuss the matter further.
"The judging of the gifts
has been completed," Yuan Mei announced in a loud voice. "The Top
Candidate is Miss Beautiful Jade, second is Miss Lunar Palace, third is Miss
Water Lily."
Applause arose from all corners
of the lake.
Beutiful Jade began to sing
again, and her tender voice penetrated Qian Long's bones, making his heart itch
unbearably.
"Go and tell that girl to
come over," he said to He Jia. "And don't say who I am."
The boat glided over to
Beautiful Jade's and He Jia leapt across. After an interval, he returned with a
piece of paper and handed it to Qian Long and said: "She told me to give
this to you."
Qian Long peered at the note
under the lamplight and saw it read: "Tomorrow."
The calligraphy was very poor,
but the paper was heavily scented with a fragrance that made his heart quiver.
"Why wait until tomorrow?
I am here now," he said. But when he looked up again, he saw Beautiful
Jade's boat was already moving off. As Emperor, the concubines of the palace
tried every trick they could think of to be favoured by him. When had a woman
ever rejected his advances? But the more she kept him at arms length, the more
he desired her. He hurriedly issued an Imperial command: "Chase after that
boat!"
Qian Long stood silently on
the prow, his heart pursuing the boat ahead. The lights on the lake were going
out but the music had not yet been extinguished. He indistinctly heard what he
thought was the sound of laughter and soft words from the boat in front.
The distance between the two
boats gradually closed. Suddenly the curtain on the flower boat parted for a
second and a object was flung in the direction of Qian Long. Bai Zhen lunged
forward to intercept it, and as it hit his hand he noticed the object was not a
dart as he had expected but a red handkerchief with all four corners knotted
together. He quickly presented it to the Emperor.
Qian Long untied it and inside
he found a lotus sweet and a lily bulb: both were symbols of a well-matched
couple. How could he fail to catch the meaning of such a romantic message?
The flower boat reached the
bank, and Beautiful Jade stepped off and into a small horse-drawn carriage. She
looked out of the carriage window and smiled seductively at Qian Long, then
released the carriage curtain.
"Hey! Wait a moment,
don't go!" He Jia yelled, but the driver took no notice and with a clatter
of horses' hooves, the carriage moved off south.
"Get another carriage
quickly!" He Jia called. The bodyguards soon found a carriage and forced
its occupants out. Qian Long stepped inside and it raced off after the other
carriage.
Bodyguard Bai Zhen saw they
were heading towards the prosperous district of the city, and decided
everything was all right: the Emperor had obviously decided to spend the night
at the home of the courtesan. But having seen her only a few days before with
the Red Flower Society men, he had to take precautions against a trap. He
quickly ordered Rui Dalin to bring extra men to help protect the Emperor.
Beautiful Jade's carriage
passed along several streets, then turned into an alley and stopped in front of
a pair of black-painted gates. An attendant on the carriage jumped down and
knocked on them just as Qian Long was descending from his carriage. With a long
squeak, the gates were opened, and an old woman came out, pulled aside the
carriage curtain and greeted Beautiful Jade. She stepped out of the carriage
and, seeing Qian Long standing to one side, hurried over to greet him.
"Aiya, Master
Dongfang," she said. "Thank you so much for your gifts just now.
Please come in and have some tea." Qian Long smiled and walked through the
gates.
One of the bodyguards rushed
in ahead of the Emperor, his hand on the hilt of his sword, checking for
assassins or perhaps a customer of the prostitute who would wish to protest
that he was first.
Beyond the gates was a
courtyard. A wave of flowery fragrance assailed their noses and tree shadows
danced on the ground around two cinnamon bushes which were in full bloom. Qian
Long followed Beautiful Jade into a small, elegantly-decorated chamber lit by
two tall, red candles.
A maid brought in wine and
food. Qian Long looked at the plates of delicacies, including marinated chicken
and Thousand-Year-Old eggs, and marvelled at how exquisite they were compared
to the heavy food he was served in the Imperial palace. The maid strained two
cups of aged, deeply-fragrant rice wine.
Beautiful Jade took a sip and
smiled. "Master Dongfang, how can I ever thank you?" she said.
Qian Long raised his cup and
drained it in one draught. "Sing a song first," he said, also
smiling. "We will discuss at our leisure how you can thank me."
Beautiful Jade picked up a
pipa and began to play softly.
While the Emperor drank and
enjoyed himself inside, Commander-in-Chief Li arrived with a detachment of
troops and encircled the alley with ring after ring of guards. His officers
searched every nearby house thoroughly, leaving only Beautiful Jade's room
untouched. Bai Zhen ordered a group of guardsmen to patrol the roof tops with
bows and arrows at the ready. Countless men have been to brothels over the
centuries, but Qian Long's visit was surely the most imposing and awe-inspiring
visit of all.
The guards and soldiers were
kept busy the whole night, but dawn finally broke without anything untoward
having happened. The sun rose, and He Jia tiptoed over to Beautiful Jade's
bed-chamber to peek through a crack in the window. He spied Qian Long's boots
lying by the bed and retreated. Eight o'clock passed, nine o'clock and ten
o'clock and still there was no sign of the Emperor rising. Becoming anxious, He
Jia returned to the window and called quietly: "Master, would you like
some breakfast?" He called several times, but there was no response.
He went to the door and gave
it a push, but it was barred from inside. "Master!" he called out
loudly. Still no answer from the room. He Jia was very concerned, but he didn't
dare break the door down. Instead, he went to discuss the situation with
Commander Li and Bai Zhen.
"Why don't we tell the
old house woman to go and knock on the door with some breakfast. His Highness
won't be offended," suggested Li.
"An excellent idea,
Commander," Bai Zhen said.
The three went off to look for
the old woman, but found the whole establishment was deserted. Greatly alarmed
at the situation, they began banging frantically on Beautiful Jade's door.
"Force it open!"
ordered Li. Bai Zhen put both of his palms on the door, and with a sight push,
snapped the door bar.
He Jia went in first and
carefully pulled apart the bed curtains to find the bed clothes in disarray but
absolutely no sign of Qian Long or Beautiful Jade. He fainted to the floor in
fright.
Bai Zhen hastily called in
some guards and searched the establishment, but they failed to find so much as
half a clue. How could the Emperor have disappeared when the guard they had
mounted was so tight that not even a sparrow could have escaped without being
noticed? Bai Zhen toured round the room once more looking for a secret door,
but he knocked and banged for a long time without finding anything suspicious.
The Imperial Guard Commander Fu Kangan and the provincial governor arrived
having received news of Qian Long's disappearance, and they all gathered in the
middle of Beautiful Jade's boudoir, pale frightened and completely at a loss
for what to do.
6
After listening to Beautiful
Jade sing for a while and drinking a few cups of wine, Qian Long had begun to
feel a little sleepy.
Beautiful Jade smiled.
"Would you like to lie down?" she asked. He nodded in answer, and she
helped him take off his clothes and boots, led him over to the bed and covered
him with the bed clothes.
"I'll just go out for a
second, then come back to you," she said. Feeling lulled and drowsy from
the scented pillow and sheets, Qian Long heard a faint sound in front of the
bed.
"You mischievous
girl," he said with a smile. "What's the hold up?"
The curtain opened and a head
appeared. Under the candlelight Qian Long could see it had a pock-marked face,
and thick sideburns, very different from Beautiful Jade's fair features. He
rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again just as the intruder placed a
shining dagger by his neck and said quietly in Cantonese: "Damn your
ancestors, you bastard Emperor, make one sound and I'll use this."
Qian Long's lust dissipated in
a flash as if he had been doused with a bucket of iced water. The man said
nothing more, but stuffed a handkerchief into Qian Long's mouth, then rolled
him up tightly in the eiderdown and carried him off.
Unable to move or make a
sound, Qian Long's eyes stared at the blackness and felt himself being carried
down a flight of steps. His nose caught the musty smell of mud and dank
humidity, then after a moment, he felt himself being carried upwards again. He
realized the man must have emerged from a hidden tunnel in the room.
He felt himself being shaken
and heard the sound of wheels starting to move, and knew he was in a carriage.
In his terror, he wondered who had kidnapped him and where they were taking
him.
The carriage travelled for a
long time. After a while the road became uneven, and the carriage shook and
bumped about, indicating they had left the city. Finally they stopped, and Qian
Long felt himself lifted out of the carriage and carried upwards, one step after
another endlessly until he thought they must be ascending a high peak. He was
so frightened, his whole body quaked, and surrounded by darkness inside the
quilt, he almost began to cry.
Finally, he was put down with
a bump. He waited quietly, not daring to speak, but a long while passed without
anything happening. He slowly pushed aside the quilt in which he was wrapped
and looked out to find everything in total darkness. He fancied he could hear
the sound of waves breaking a long way off, and concentating he also heard the
wind rippling through fir trees and the clear, steady chime of a brass bell.
The wind became stronger and stronger, gusting angrily, and he thought he felt
the structure he was in rocking slightly. Even more afraid, he moved as if to
stand up.
"If you want to live,
don't move," a deep voice close by growled. Qian Long jumped in fright and
stayed as still as he could.
Gradually, the wind subsided
and it began to grow light until he could see he was in a small room. Having
climbed for so long to reach it, he wondered if it was a house on the peak of a
mountain. He heard a series of snuffling noises, and listening carefully,
realised the guards were eating noodles. From the sound of it there were two of
them, chewing great mouthfuls with relish. Having been awake all night, he felt
hungry and his appetite sharpened as the smell of the noodles wafted over to
him.
The two finished eating. One
of the guards walked over and placed a full bowl of prawn and eel noodle soup
about five feet from his head.
"Is that for me?"
Qian Long wondered to himself. But the guards said nothing, and despite his
hunger he did not dare to open his mouth to ask.
"That bowl of noodles is
for you," one of the guards finally said. "There's no poison in
it."
Qian Long was overjoyed. He
sat up to get the bowl, but a wave of cold struck his body and he remembered
that he was naked. He hastily lay down again and wrapped himself in the quilt.
How could he stand up in front of strangers without a stitch on?
"Damn your ancestors, so
you're afraid of poison are you?" one of the guards said. "All right,
I'll eat it to show you." He picked up the bowl and guzzled its contents
down.
Qian Long looked at his
scar-covered face in fright. "I am not wearing anything," he said.
"Please get me some clothing."
Even though he said please,
his words still smacked of an Imperial order. The man grunted. "I don't
have time," he replied. It was 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi.
Qian Long's anger surged up,
but remembering his life was in their hands, he swallowed his Imperial pride.
"Are you Red Flower
Society men?" he asked. "I want to see your leader, Chen."
"You had our Brother Wen
treated so badly, his body is a mass of wounds. The Great Helmsman is busy
finding a doctor to help heal him. He has no time to see you," Shi
replied. "Maybe when Brother Wen has recovered, we'll think about
it."
Qian Long wondered how many
months or years it might take for Wen to recover.
"And if Brother Wen
doesn't recover," said the other guard, 'Iron Pagoda' Yang, "that's
it for you. A life for a life."
Qian Long pretended he hadn't
heard.
The two guards began talking
at once, cursing the Manchu invaders for seizing the lands of the Chinese
people, and the officials and landlords for the way they oppressed the common
folk. Qian Long was shocked by the hatred evident in every word. At noon, two
other guards arrived to relieve them, and as the new pair ate, they discussed
the sadistic ways in which magistrates punished and tortured honest citizens,
describing in great detail how slivers of bamboo were forced under finger
nails, buttocks branded with red-hot iron bars and bodies stretched on racks.
"When we have seized all
these corrupt officials," said one, "we'll give them a taste of their
own medicine."
"First we have to deal
with their leader," replied the other.
To Qian Long, that day seemed
as long as a year. Towards evening, the Twin Knights took over. First, they
drank in dour silence. Then, when they were slightly drunk, they began
discussing the cruel and unusual methods used by the fighting community to take
vengeance on enemies: how Black Tiger Kao had once been arrested, and later
went back and gouged out the eyes of the official responsible; how White Horse
Tan had avenged his brother's death by burying alive the murderer's family.
Hungry and frightened, Qian
Long covered his ears, but every word still found its way in. The twins
displayed great staying-power, and talked until morning, cursing the
"Turtles" an untold number of times. The candlelight flickering on
the Twin Knights' features made them look like living ghosts, and Qian Long was
unable to close his eyes once during the night.
The next morning, 'Buddha'
Zhao and 'Leopard' Wei came. Qian Long looked at the kindly face of Zhao and the
handsome face of Wei, very different from the demon-like guards they replaced
and he relaxed slightly. But his hunger was becoming too much to bear.
"I want to see your
leader, Chen," he said to Zhao. "Please pass on the message for
me."
"The Great Helmsman is
busy today," Zhao replied. "Maybe in a few days time."
Qian Long wondered if he would
still be alive after a few more days of such treatment. "Well, please get
me something to eat first to ease my hunger."
"All right," replied
Zhao. "His Imperial Highness wants a banquet," he shouted at the top
of his voice. "Make preparations quickly!" Wei bowed and left.
Qian Long was overjoyed.
"Get a set of clothing for me," he said.
"His Imperial Highness
wants some clothes! Bring a gown for him quickly!" Zhao bawled out again.
"You're a good man,"
said Qian Long. "What's your name? I will reward you well later."
Zhao smiled slightly but did not answer. Qian Long suddenly recogized him.
"Ah, now I remember," he said. "You're the one who is so good at
Dart Kung Fu."
Meng brought a set of clothing
in and placed it on the quilt. Qian Long sat up, then saw it was a suit of
chinese clothes in the style of the Ming dynasty which the Manchus had
overthrown. He hesitated.
"That's the only set of
clothes we have," Zhao said. "Wear them or not, as you like."
Qian Long considered the
situation. How could he, as the Emperor of the Manchu dynasty, wear a set of
Ming dynasty chinese clothes? But if he didn't put something on, he would not
be able to eat, and after one day and two nights of hunger, he dispensed with
his misgivings and donned the garments.
The clothes felt unfamiliar,
but there was something dashing and elegant about them. He walked the few steps
over to the window and looked out, and started involuntarily. Forests and
fields were spread out before him like a chess board, and in the far distance
was a great river spotted with sails. He realised he was at the top of a tall
pagoda, and from its position and design, recognized it as the famous Six
Harmonies Pagoda near Hangzhou.
Several more hours passed
before someone came to announce: "The banquet is ready. Please come down
and eat."
Qian Long followed Zhao and
Wei down one floor where a large round table had been set up in the centre of
the room. All the seats around the table were already occupied except for
three, and as Qian Long descended, the diners stood up and saluted him. Qian
Long was secretly ecstatic at this sudden display of respect.
"Our Great Helmsman says
Your Highness and he have been close friends ever since you first met,"
said Priest Wu Chen. "As a result, he has invited you here to stay for a
few days to provide an opportunity for the two of you to have a discussion.
However, important matters have suddenly come up which require the Great
Helmsman's attention and he has asked me to convey his sincere apologies."
Qian Long grunted
noncommitally. Priest Wu Chen invited him to take a seat, and Qian Long took
the guest of honour's place.
A servant brought up a flask
of wine and the priest took it from him.
"We brothers are very
uncouth, completely incapable of waiting on Your Highness properly. Please do
not be offended," he said, pouring wine into Qian Long's cup. But as it
reached the rim, his face darkened.
"His Majesty must have
the very best wine," he shouted angrily at the servant. "How dare you
bring us this tepid spirit?" He picked up the cup and threw its contents
into the servant's face.
"This is only wine we
have here, sir," replied the servant apologetically. "I will immediately
go to the city and buy some of better quality."
"And be quick about
it," shouted Priest Wu Chen. "Wine such as this is all right for
coarse people like ourselves, but how can you offer it to His Highness?"
'Mastermind' Xu took the wine
flask from him and poured out a cup for everyone else, leaving only Qian Long's
cup empty, apologising effusively as he did so.
A moment later, another
servant brought in four steaming dishes of food, one of lightly-fried shrimps,
another piled with salted pork ribs, a third with steamed fish, and a fourth of
fried chicken slices. Qian Long breathed in the fragrant aroma of the food, but
Priest Wu Chen frowned.
"Who cooked this
food?" he demanded. A man took two steps forward. "I did," he
said.
"What sort of object are
you? Why didn't you arrange for His Majesty's favourite cook, Zhang Anguan, to
come to prepare some dishes? How can you expect His Majesty to eat such rough
Hangzhou food?"
"These dishes look
delicious," protested Qian Long. "They certainly cannot be called
rough." He picked up his chopsticks and stretched over to pick up some
food. Lu Feiqing, sitting next to him, stretched out his own chopsticks and
caught Qian Long's between them.
"These dishes are too
coarse for Your Highness. You would not wish to have an upset stomach," he
said, and applying a slight amount of pressure, snapped Qian Long's chopsticks
in two.
Qian Long's face flushed deep
red and he slammed the chopstick ends down onto the table. The others pretended
not to notice and began eating.
"Go and get His
Highness's personal cook to prepare some food quickly," Xu shouted.
"His Highness is hungry, do you hear?"
The cook hastily retired. Qian
Long knew they were playing with him. Hunger burned in his stomach as he
watched the others eating and drinking voraciously. He was livid with rage, but
he could not risk displaying his feelings. When they had finished, a servant
came in with some tea.
"This tea is not too
bad," said Xu. "Your Highness may like to drink a cupful."
Qian Long drank the cup dry in
two mouthfuls, but it only served to aggravate his hunger. 'Crocodile' Jiang
rubbed his belly appreciatively and said: "I'm full!"
"We are making
arrangements for a proper banquet for you, Your Highness," 'Buddha' Zhao
said.
Priest Wu Chen stamped his
foot and exclaimed that the Great Helmsman would be very displeased to find his
honoured guest had been kept waiting.
Lord Zhou began clicking his
iron gallstones together. "Are you hungry, Your Majesty?" he asked.
Qian Long said nothing.
"What do you mean,
hungry?" asked 'Crocodile' Jiang. "I'm full!"
"The well-fed never
appreciate the anguish of the hungry," added Xu. "There are countless
millions of common people who are starving, but when have those in authority
ever spared a thought for them? Having been a little bit hungry today, perhaps
Your Highness will in future understand more about how the common people suffer
when they starve."
"Some people are hungry
for months and years on end. Some never eat their fill once in a whole
lifetime," said one of the Twin Knights. "What's so special about not
eating anything for a day or two?"
Most of the Red Flower Society
heroes had been born into poverty. Their anger rose as they thought of the past
and they all began talking at once, swapping stories.
Qian Long's face went pale as
he listened. He found himself moved by their sincerity. "Could such misery
really exist in the world?" he asked himself. The more he heard, the more
embarrassed he felt, and finally he rose and went back upstairs. The heroes did
not try to stop him.
A few hours later, he smelt
the aroma of mutton with onions and green peppers wafting up from below. This
was a speciality of the Imperial chef, Zhang Anguan, and just as Qian Long was
wondering if it could really be him, Zhang Anguan ran up and kowtowed, saying:
"Please come and eat, Your Highness."
"What are you doing
here?" Qian Long asked in amazement.
"Your slave was watching
an opera performance in a park yesterday when I was kidnapped. Today, I was
asked to wait on you, and your slave was delighted to have the
opportunity."
Qian Long nodded and went
downstairs. The table had been set with a number of dishes including the
mutton, all them his personal favorites. As well as the main dishes, there were
also a dozen or so plates of small delicacies, and his heart leapt for joy at
the sight of the feast. Chef Zhang filled a bowl of rice for him.
"Please eat, Your
Highness," said Priest Wu Chen.
Qian Long wondered whether
they would allow him to eat this time. He was just about to raise his
chopsticks when a young girl came in carrying a cat.
"Daddy," she said to
Lord Zhou. "Kitty is hungry."
The cat struggled to free
itself and jumped onto the table. The animal ate a couple of mouthfuls from the
dishes spread before Qian Long, then it suddenly went rigid, dropped onto the
table top, dead.
Qian Long's face went white,
and Chef Zhang, shaking from fright, knelt down and said: "Your
Highness…Your Highness…the food…they've poisoned the food…don't eat it!"
Qian Long laughed out loud.
"You have committed rebellion and other heinous crimes. Now you wish to
assassinate me," he said. "If you are going to kill me, do it
cleanly. Why go to the trouble of poisoning the food?" He pushed his chair
back and stood up.
"Your Highness, are you
sure this meal is inedible?" asked Priest Wu Chen.
"You traitorous
thieves!" Qian Long shouted, his anger breaking through. "We'll see
what sort of an end you all come to!"
Priest Wu Chen slammed his
hand down on the table. "For a real man, life and death are decided by
Heaven!" he shouted. "If you won't eat, then I will! Who has the guts
to join me?"
He picked up his chopsticks,
took some food from one of the dishes the cat had tried, and began chewing
noisily. The other heroes sat down again too, all saying: "If we die, we
die. What does it matter?" Qian Long was stunned at the sight of these
criminals eating poisoned food.
The heroes, who had fed the
cat poison in advance, ate all the dishes clean in a trice, and suffered no ill
effects. Qian Long, having failed to eat even one mouthful, had lost yet
another round.
7
While Qian Long went hungry,
the official administration in Hangzhou was turned upside down. News of the
Emperor's disappearance had not yet leaked out but the whole city had been
searched. All exits from Hangzhou by both land and water were heavily guarded,
and several thousand "suspected bandits" had been arrested until
every prison was full. The local officials were very worried, but they also
took advantage of the situation to seize rich businessmen and merchants and
extort large sums of money from them.
Fu Kangan, Commander Li and
Bai Zhen jumped about like ants on a hot plate, completely at a loss for what
to do.
Early on the morning of the
third day, Fu Kangan called a meeting in the provincial governor's residence.
Glum-faced and powerless, they argued about whether or not the Empress should
be informed. But none of them dared consider the consequences once such a
report had been sent.
As they sat gripped by indecision,
one of the Imperial Bodyguards, named Rui, ran in, his face deathly pale, and
whispered into Bai Zhen's ear.
Bai Zhen went white and stood
up. "How could this happen?" he demanded. Fu Kangan hurriedly asked
what was wrong.
"The six bodyguards standing
guard outside the Emperor's bed chamber have been killed," Rui said. Far
from being alarmed, Fu was pleased by this news.
"Let us go and see,"
he said. "This event must be connected with His Majesty's disappearance.
We may even find some clues."
They hurried to the bed
chamber that had been set aside in the Governor's residence for Qian Long. Six
corpses lay at all angles around the room. Some had had their eyes gouged out,
some had gaping holes in their chests: All had died horribly.
"These six brothers were
good fighters," said Bai Zhen. "How could they have been finished off
without being able to even utter a sound?"
They stared in open-mouthed
horror, incapabale of deciphering the scene. Bai Zhen examined the corpse. The
assassins had moved so fast, some of the six had not even had time to draw
their swords.
He frowned. "This room is
not big enough for a large number of people to fight in, so at the very most
there cannot have been more than two or three of them," he said.
"Their kung fu must be extraordinary."
"Since they already have
the Emperor, why should they come and kill these bodyguards?" asked
Commander Li. "From the look of it, last night's assassins and the people
who kidnapped the Emperor are not the same bunch."
"That's right!" exclaimed
Fu Kangan. "The assassins came, planning to kill the Emperor, but found he
wasn't there."
"I would guess that you
are correct," said Bai Zhen. "If the men who killed the bodyguards
were from the Red Flower Society, then the Emperor has fallen into someone
else's hands. But apart from the Red Flower Society, who else is there whose
kung fu is so good?" The Red Flower Society's fighters were already
difficult enough to handle: the sudden appearance of yet another group of
powerful enemies froze his heart.
Bending over to look at the
corpses again, Bai Zhen noticed that some of the wounds appeared to have been
made by the claws and teeth of a dog, and he hurriedly asked Commander Li to
send someone to find some hunting hounds.
About two hours later, a
soldier appeared with three hunters and six hounds. Bai Zhen ordered the
hunters to let their charges sniff around the corpses, and after a second the
dogs charged out of the chamber on the trail of a scent. They ran straight to
the lake and barked madly across the water. After a moment, they raced off
again along the lake shore to where Qian Long had stepped ashore following the
courtesan contest, then turned towards the city. The streets were crowded and
the scent confused, and the dogs were forced to slow down, but they continued
to head towards Beautiful Jade's establishment.
There should have been troops
on guard outside the entrance, but none were to be seen, and as they entered
the courtyard they found a dozen corpses lying on the ground. The ruthless
assassins had not left one bodyguard alive. Some had had their throats ripped
out by dogs, which Bai Zhen thought appeared from the wounds to be very large
animals, possibly a cross between dogs and wolves such as were bred in the
northwest. Could the assassins have come from there?
The dogs sniffed their way
around Beautiful Jade's chamber several times, then began scratching and pawing
at a certain point on the floor. Bai Zhen ordered the soldiers to prise up the
floor boards with their swords and underneath they found a stone slab.
"Lift it up!" Bai
Zhen ordered urgently. The soldiers heaved the slab up, revealing a deep hole
into which the dogs immediately leapt. Commander Li and Bai Zhen looked down at
the tunnel glumly. The kidnappers had avoided the heavy guard by coming and
going via the tunnel. Full of shame, they led their troops down into the
darkness.